 Indelible ink officer – inspects and marks the small finger of the left hand to confirm receipt of ballot papers and then directs the voter to the voting screen.  Voter – goes behind the voting screen to cast their vote and, once complete, places the ballot in the correct ballot box: Presidential (blue), National Assembly (peach) and Local Government (yellow). The voter then exits the station. Assessment of the opening of the polls and voting On Election Day, Commonwealth observers reported a largely peaceful process that was well managed and transparent. Polling officials were generally consistent in the application of procedures. Party agents, citizen and international observers were present throughout the country. Voters turned out in large numbers, particularly at the outset of voting. Each party agent and citizen observer was required to provide their name and ID and to sign a commitment under the Official Secrets Act that they understood that, if they received or acquired information in the course of their duties as Agents or Observers, this could not be divulged or communicated in any way other than for their official duties (which are not defined). Violation constituted a breach of the Official Secrets Act (section 11.9) and the PA or local observer would have been liable for prosecution. Some key observations of the Group are as follows:  Most polling stations observed opened promptly at 07:00hrs and at the opening of polls there were already queues of voters.  Polling officers were organised, professional and responsive. They appeared to recognise the need for fairness and consistency in the application of election rules, but displayed an appropriate degree of flexibility based on particular circumstances. They also diligently maintained the results slips, incident reports and visitor forms, and were in regular communication with the ZEC local office. Polling officers also consulted their manuals regularly.  In advance of the elections, it was noted that polling officials and party agents spent the night at their designated polling stations, in some cases from as early as 26 July. The Group was advised that some officials reported that they suffered hardship, because they were not paid their election stipend prior to Election Day.  The Group also observed that the ZEC’s officials regularly visited polling stations throughout Election Day to see that voting was proceeding smoothly, and they responded to requests for more election materials, including additional ballot boxes in some places. 49