How the matching dey work
NaijaDecide dey compare your answers with the position wey every candidate for INEC final list don talk or publish, with source. Na the same method for everybody, e dey run for your own phone, and anybody fit check the code.
How we write the questions
- 25 questions dey, across 10 topics: economy and cost of living, fuel and energy, electricity, security, federalism and restructuring, education, health, jobs and youth, agriculture and land, governance and anti-corruption.
- Each question na real trade-off. Every option talk wetin you go gain and wetin you go lose.
- The options no dey overlap, and each one na position wey serious candidate fit hold.
- We dey read each question like supporter of each main candidate. Anything wey be like trap, we go rewrite am.
- Every question get short explanation for simple language.
How we code candidate position
- We gather public sources for each candidate: manifesto, campaign website, debate transcript, big interviews, verified social media and official records.
- We archive every source for Wayback Machine before we use am.
- AI tools dey suggest which option the source support and show the part wey talk am. Then person go read that part and confirm or reject am. Position go count only after that check.
- If sources no agree, the latest statement from the 2026–27 campaign go win, then manifesto, then older statements. We go write the conflict for the summary.
- Summary na neutral paraphrase under 30 words, no adjective, no guess about why dem talk am.
- If we no fit find clear public position, we go mark am “no position wey get source”. We no dey guess.
How we calculate the match
For each question wey you answer (questions wey you skip no dey count at all):
- candidate choose the same option → agree
- candidate choose different option → differ
- candidate no get position wey get source → neutral
Each question get weight w of 1, or 2 if the topic dey your top 3. How strong candidate hold position no dey change the score.
s = Σ w × (agree − differ) ÷ Σ w × (agree + differ + 0.5 × neutral)
alignment = 50% + 50% × s
Alignment dey from 0% (e no agree with you for anything) to 100% (e agree with you for everything). 50% mean e no lean any side.
Neutral questions dey count half for the bottom of the fraction. This one dey keep candidates wey no get plenty position near 50%, so dem no go reach top by luck.
Examples
All weights na 1, all 25 questions answered:
| Agree | Differ | No position | s | Alignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 6 | 10 | 3 ÷ 20 = 0.150 | 57.5% |
| 11 | 9 | 5 | 2 ÷ 22.5 = 0.089 | 54.4% |
| 2 | 0 | 23 | 2 ÷ 13.5 = 0.148 | 57.4% |
| 3 | 14 | 8 | −11 ÷ 21 = −0.524 | 23.8% |
The third line show why the half weight matter: candidate wey get only 2 positions, and the two match your own, go score 57.4%, no be 100%.
When we talk “no clear match”
- If you answer less than 10 questions, we go ask you to answer more before we show result.
- If the top candidate dey below 60%, or e dey within 3 points of the second person, we go talk “No clear match — you dey between X and Y”.
- If not, we go talk “The one wey near you pass: X (NN%)”. We no dey talk “You match X”.
- If candidates get exactly the same score, we go arrange dem by surname, A to Z, and we go tell you.
Wetin e no fit do
- Positions come from wetin candidates don publish or talk. E fit different from wetin dem go do for office.
- 25 questions no fit cover everything wey matter for your vote.
- Track record dey show as facts wey get source for each candidate profile. E no dey part of the score.
- No single correct formula dey. Other good formula fit change result small.
- Some candidates don publish pass others, so coverage no dey the same. Each result dey show how many questions each candidate get position for.