The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians that voter accreditation and result collation will not be fully automated during the upcoming 2027 general elections, emphasizing that human voters, not technology, will remain the sole determinants of the nation’s political leadership.
​Speaking on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, during the keynote address at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, reaffirmed the electoral body’s commitment to human oversight throughout the election cycle.
​”Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” Prof. Amupitan stated. “As a foundational policy, no critical electoral decision, result collation, voter accreditation, or candidate qualification will ever be fully automated or delegated to an autonomous system. Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain.”
​The high-level event, co-convened by INEC and civil society organization Yiaga Africa, gathered key stakeholders across the continent.
Present at the dialogue were the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo; the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions and Chairman of Senegal’s Electoral Commission, Mr. Abdoulaye Sylla; along with National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, heads of African election management bodies, diplomats, political leaders, and civil society representatives.
​In his introductory remarks, Samson Itodo underlined the critical necessity of auditable artificial intelligence systems, transparent methodologies, and robust data integrity to safeguard the democratic process.
​While clarifying that AI models would not make core decisions, Prof. Amupitan explained that technology will still play a supportive, administrative role to strengthen transparency and security.
INEC plans to utilise AI applications for predictive logistics, route optimisation, automated assistance during results auditing, biometric database management, real-time cybersecurity defense, and multilingual voter education through natural language processing.
​Highlighting the commission’s operational preparedness, the INEC Chairman disclosed that the electoral body has already completed 10 out of the 14 major operational milestones mandated by the Electoral Act 2026.
​”INEC’s job is to ensure that the voice of the people is heard clearly, above the noise of the machines,” Amupitan concluded. “On election day in 2027, it will be the thumbprint of the Nigerian citizen, guided by their own will and their own hopes, that decides our future.”
