The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said voter accreditation and result collation will not be fully automated in the 2027 general elections, insisting that citizens, not artificial intelligence, will decide the outcome.
CDA News Nigeria reports that INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan made the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026, organised by INEC with Yiaga Africa, with the theme “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
He said no critical electoral decision, including result collation, voter accreditation or candidate qualification, would ever be fully automated or handed to an autonomous system. “Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” he said. He added that human accountability, statutory oversight and judicial review would remain central at every stage.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that Amupitan said any AI tool used for logistics, database management or operational support would be audited for explainability, fairness and security before deployment. INEC has also set up an AI unit within its Information and Communication Technology Directorate to monitor digital threats and detect deepfakes.
He urged political parties and candidates to sign an Ethical AI Code of Conduct, committing not to use deepfakes, synthetic impersonation, dark ads or automated botnets.
The chairman said INEC had completed 10 of the 14 major milestones set by the Electoral Act 2026, procured more Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) units, introduced online voter registration and digitised candidate nominations. Its nomination portal was processing more than 15,000 nominations from 22 political parties.
The remarks come about 92 days before the elections. They reflect INEC’s own account, and CDA News Nigeria had no response from political parties at the time of filing.
CDA News Nigeria will update this story as more information emerges.
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