The Independent National Electoral Commission has adopted the recently concluded Osun State governorship election as a major benchmark for its preparations for the 2027 general election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Friday when he received the Chargé d’Affaires of Canada to Nigeria, David Sproule, who led a delegation from the Canadian High Commission on a courtesy visit to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. Amupitan said INEC had been using recent off-cycle elections to test and improve its electoral systems. He cited the Anambra and Ekiti governorship elections, as well as the FCT Area Council elections, as examples.
According to him, the August 15 Osun governorship election stood out because of the improvements recorded during the exercise. He highlighted the opening of polling units, the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, electronic transmission of results and the management of emerging crises.
The INEC chairman said 3,556 of the 3,763 polling units opened for accreditation and voting by 8:30am. This represented 94.5 per cent of the polling units in the state. He also described the performance of BVAS and the upload of results to the IReV portal as optimal. Amupitan further commended the commission’s handling of crises that emerged during the election.
“We view the success in Osun not as a final destination, but as the gold standard that will guide our preparations for 2027,” Amupitan said.
INEC begins 2027 election preparations
Amupitan disclosed that preparations for the 2027 general election had already commenced. He noted that the statutory commencement of public campaigns and rallies began on August 19. The INEC chairman identified five areas that would receive priority attention ahead of the elections. They include consolidating technological gains, improving electoral inclusion and strengthening institutional capacity.
The commission will also focus on tackling misinformation and protecting the integrity of the electoral process. As part of its preparations, INEC plans to conduct a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November 2026. The exercise will be used to test BVAS and other electoral equipment ahead of the 2027 elections.
Amupitan said the commission would require about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel to conduct the elections across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.
INEC establishes AI unit
Amupitan also revealed that INEC had established a dedicated artificial intelligence unit. The unit will explore responsible applications of AI in areas such as data management, voter registration and results transmission. It will also focus on emerging electoral threats, including deepfakes and disinformation. According to Amupitan, such threats could undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
He said INEC would participate in the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections. The conference is scheduled to take place in Ottawa, Canada, from September 9 to 11.
Canada pledges support for 2027 elections
Meanwhile, Sproule reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s democratic and electoral processes ahead of the 2027 elections. He said Canada would continue to support electoral participation, women’s inclusion, public awareness, technical assistance and election observation.
In response, Amupitan reaffirmed INEC’s independence and neutrality. He said the commission remained committed to conducting free, fair, credible and transparent elections. He added that the elections would also be inclusive and reflect the will of Nigerians.
Read also: 2027: INEC Has No Candidate, Favours No Party – Amupitan
