The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has ruled out fully automated voter accreditation and election result collation in the 2027 general elections, insisting that human oversight and accountability will remain central to the electoral process.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026, organised in collaboration with Yiaga Africa.
According to the commission’s Wednesday bulletin, Amupitan said no critical electoral decision, including voter accreditation, result collation and candidate qualification, would be left entirely to automated systems.
“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” he said, stressing that the authority to determine Nigeria’s leadership rests with the electorate.
He added that statutory oversight, human accountability and judicial review would remain integral to every stage of the electoral process.
The INEC chairman warned that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) had introduced new threats to electoral credibility, extending beyond traditional concerns about election logistics and the physical security of ballot boxes.
“The greatest threat we face is not the hacking of a ballot box, but the hacking of the voter’s mind,” Amupitan said.
He explained that generative AI had made it easier and cheaper to produce convincing deepfake videos and audio recordings capable of misleading voters and disrupting the electoral process.
Such content, he warned, could be used to falsely announce a candidate’s withdrawal, circulate fabricated election postponement notices or spread inflammatory ethnic and religious statements shortly before the claims are debunked.
Amupitan also cautioned against the impersonation of the INEC chairman, Resident Electoral Commissioners and other election officials through fake guidelines, unauthorised result announcements and misleading voting instructions.
He said such activities could undermine public trust, create confusion among voters and threaten the credibility of the 2027 elections.
To address the emerging threats, Amupitan disclosed that INEC had established an AI Unit within its Information and Communication Technology Directorate.
The unit is equipped with digital monitoring tools, deepfake detection software and data analytics capabilities to help the commission identify and respond to emerging risks associated with AI-generated content.
He said every AI application intended for election logistics, database management or operational support would undergo rigorous audits to assess transparency, fairness and security before deployment.
The commission is also developing a digital strategy to monitor election-related information and working with technology platforms to identify and label AI-generated content relating to electoral processes.
Amupitan urged Meta, X, Google, TikTok and Telegram to act swiftly against unlabelled synthetic content impersonating candidates, election officials and security personnel.
He further called for clear disclaimers on political advertisements and restrictions on targeted political advertising based on ethnicity, religion or place of origin.
The commission also urged political parties and candidates to commit to an Ethical AI Code of Conduct to guide the use of artificial intelligence during campaigns and elections.
According to Amupitan, the proposed code should prohibit deepfakes, synthetic impersonation, undisclosed political advertisements and automated bot networks deployed to manipulate public opinion.
He stressed that political actors and technology platforms had a responsibility to ensure that AI was not used to deceive voters or distort democratic participation.
The INEC chairman, however, acknowledged that artificial intelligence could improve electoral administration when deployed under appropriate safeguards.
He said the technology could support election planning, identify inconsistencies in electoral data and strengthen institutional checks.
Amupitan explained that AI could conduct parallel statistical checks on polling-unit result sheets uploaded through the electronic EC8A process.
The system could flag mathematical discrepancies, unusual entry patterns and poor-quality images for administrative review, helping officials identify records requiring further scrutiny.
He also said AI-powered geospatial analysis could assist the commission in determining where to deploy ad hoc personnel, vehicles, boats and sensitive election materials ahead of the commencement of voting at 7:30 a.m.
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Such applications, he noted, could improve operational planning and help INEC address logistical challenges across the country.
However, the commission maintained that these tools would support, rather than replace, human decision-making and established electoral procedures.
Amupitan said the 2027 general elections would involve more than 103 million registered voters across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas and 176,846 polling units.
He added that 10 of the 14 major operational milestones under the Electoral Act 2026 had been completed.
The scale of the exercise, he said, underscored the importance of combining technology with robust safeguards, transparent procedures and accountable human supervision.
The two-day Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 brought together electoral officials, political party representatives, civil society organisations, security agencies, technology companies and journalists to examine the implications of AI for democratic governance.
Participants included Abdoulaye Sylla, chairman of Senegal’s Electoral Commission and chairperson of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions.
Reiterating the importance of human control, Amupitan said algorithms could not assume civic responsibility or replace the constitutional role of voters in determining electoral outcomes.
“INEC’s job is to ensure that the voice of the people is heard clearly, above the noise of the machines,” he said.
