The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to conduct a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise on November 28 as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday during a conference at Chatham House in London, where he discussed the country’s democratic trajectory beyond the ballot ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the exercise would simulate a presidential election and enable the commission to assess its preparedness, particularly the accreditation of voters and transmission of election results.
“On the 28th of this month, we are planning a mock accreditation and voting across all the states in Nigeria, so that we simulate a presidential election and just be sure that we have gotten it right and that there will be transmission of result,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chairman said the commission had reviewed shortcomings recorded during previous elections and introduced measures to address them, citing the 2023 general elections and subsequent off-cycle polls in Anambra and Osun states as learning experiences.
“Nigerians must trust me because I’ve done off-cycle elections, and you agreed the last election in Osun State, there was improvement, and I said every election is a lesson. 2023 election was a great lesson for Nigeria. The one we had in Anambra was another,” he said.
He added that the commission had taken steps to improve logistics and ensure that voting and the declaration of results were completed promptly.
Amupitan cited the Anambra governorship election, where results were declared the following day, as an example of the improvements made by the commission.
“We are trying to improve on logistics to ensure that everything is done within the day, and then result. Look at the way we did an Anambra election. By the following day, we declared the result,” he said.
He also referenced elections in the Federal Capital Territory and Osun State, saying the commission had demonstrated improvements in the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the transmission of results.
The INEC chairman said the measures were aimed at preventing a recurrence of past electoral challenges, stressing the importance of transparency and an auditable electoral process.
Meanwhile, INEC has identified officials in 10 states allegedly involved in uploading artificial intelligence-generated photographs into the national Register of Voters.
The commission disclosed that it had removed the questionable photographs from the register and flagged the affected officials for disciplinary action.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, disclosed this on Wednesday during a webinar organised by the PUNCH Media Foundation.
The webinar was themed, “AI, Misinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Safeguarding the Truth, Protecting the Vote.”
Haruna described the development as one of the challenges confronting the commission ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said investigations had established that some INEC personnel were involved in uploading the manipulated photographs, adding that the commission had begun addressing the violations.
“We have already seen one of the challenges, which is that a lot of AI-generated photographs were posted onto the voters’ register, which, as we have said, we have had to take down,” he said.
Haruna explained that although the commission might find it difficult to prevent members of the public from digitally manipulating their photographs before uploading them, it had the authority to investigate and sanction its personnel.
“But the ones involving our own staff, where it is our own staff that did so, that one is within our control. We are in the process of addressing it. They have been flagged,” he added.
He further disclosed that INEC had obtained the names of the affected officials across about 10 states, assuring that they would face disciplinary measures.
“We have their names across about 10 states, and obviously, they are going to face disciplinary action,” Haruna said.