INEC: Algorithms Will Not Decide Nigeria’s 2027 Elections, Amupitan Assures Voters

INEC: Algorithms Will Not Decide Nigeria’s 2027 Elections, Amupitan Assures Voters

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, has assured Nigerians that artificial intelligence (AI) will not determine the outcome of the 2027 general elections, stressing that the choice of leaders rests solely with the electorate.

Amupitan gave the assurance at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, themed “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” The forum was co-convened by INEC and Yiaga Africa.

“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” he said, adding that technology must serve human decision-making, institutional efficiency and administrative transparency rather than replace them.

The INEC chairman acknowledged that AI would significantly influence the electoral information environment, campaign strategies and election logistics. He warned that while the technology offers opportunities to improve election administration, it also presents risks through deepfakes, synthetic media, targeted political advertising, algorithmic bias and automated cyberattacks.

He described the 2027 general elections as a major administrative undertaking, involving more than 103 million registered voters, 176,846 polling units across 774 local government areas, and elections at presidential, legislative and state levels.

Amupitan said INEC had completed 10 of the 14 major operational milestones stipulated under the Electoral Act 2026. He also highlighted the procurement of additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) units, the digitisation of candidate nominations through the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal, and the introduction of online voter registration.

According to him, AI could support election administration through logistics and route optimisation, assistance with result audits, biometric database management, multilingual voter engagement and cybersecurity defence.

However, he emphasised that INEC would maintain human oversight of critical electoral processes, including voter accreditation, result collation and candidate qualification.

“Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain,” he said.

The INEC chairman warned that AI-generated misinformation could undermine voters’ ability to make informed decisions, noting that the spread of fabricated images, videos and other synthetic content posed significant challenges to electoral integrity.

He disclosed that the commission had established a specialised AI unit within its ICT Directorate, equipped with digital monitoring tools, deepfake detection software and data analytics expertise to identify technical threats and information manipulation targeting the electoral process.

Amupitan called on political parties, civil society organisations, security agencies, the judiciary and the media to strengthen cooperation ahead of the elections. He urged political parties to adopt an ethical code of conduct for AI use, while encouraging civil society groups to monitor algorithmic transparency and digital campaign spending.

He also proposed an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition involving INEC, civil society organisations, media bodies, fact-checkers and telecommunications operators to provide an early-warning system against viral AI-generated falsehoods.

Reaffirming the commission’s responsibility, Amupitan said the ultimate purpose of electoral technology should be to ensure that the will of Nigerians is accurately reflected in election outcomes.

He stressed that the future of democracy should be guided not merely by technological capabilities, but by the laws, institutions and choices of the people.

INEC: Algorithms Will Not Decide Nigeria’s 2027 Elections, Amupitan Assures Voters