How we verify election information
Strata-AF™ Elections keeps one verified record for each contest. The calendar, dossiers, updates and results all read from that record, and every fact in it carries its own source and the time it was last checked.
What each label means
| Official | Published by the legally responsible body. |
| Verified | Corroborated by two independent sources. |
| Expected | Inferred from the constitutional timetable. |
| Disputed | Credible sources conflict. |
| Claimed | Asserted by an interested party, not verified. |
| Provisional | Announced, but not yet legally final. |
| Final | Certified by the legally competent body. |
Verified means two independent sources. Two outlets repeating the same wire story count as one.
Source hierarchy
| Tier | Source | Examples | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National authority | Electoral commission, constitutional court, official gazette, parliament, presidency | Authoritative for dates, eligibility, candidate lists and certified results |
| 2 | Continental and regional bodies | African Union, ECOWAS, SADC, EAC, IGAD observation missions | Process assessments and observation findings |
| 3 | Specialist datasets | EISA, IFES ElectionGuide, International IDEA, ACE Electoral Knowledge Network | Discovery, history and electoral-system data |
| 4 | Independent reporting | Credible national media, civil-society monitors, international reporting | Context and dispute flags; never silently overrides tier 1 |
| 5 | Interested parties | Candidate posts, party statements, eyewitness material | Treated as claims until independently verified |
Aggregators help us discover what is coming. Nothing is published from them automatically; an editor confirms each fact against a primary source.
How often we re-check
| Stage | Re-verified |
|---|---|
| Expected | Every 30 days |
| Announced, campaign | Every 7 days; every 3 days in the final month |
| Voting, counting | Every 4–6 hours |
| Contested | Every 24 hours |
| Certified, transition | Every 14 days |
When a dossier passes its check window, it shows a Check overdue label until an editor confirms the record again. We show this on purpose.
Two editors for anything final
Any change that makes a value official or final, names a winner, or changes a result figure needs a second editor’s approval. The database enforces this rule; no single editor can bypass it.
What we do not do
- We do not give elections a “free and fair” score. We document indicators, such as candidate exclusions, internet disruptions and observer access, and we attribute every assessment.
- We do not publish projections or unofficial tallies. Party and candidate totals appear only as attributed claims.
- We do not run a minute-by-minute live blog. During voting we publish a slower, verified update stream.
Corrections
No fact is edited in place. Every change is a new, sourced entry, and the previous value stays visible in the corrections log. To report an error, email legal@strata-af.com with the page and the source.