The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has declared that algorithms will not determine the outcome of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the power to elect leaders rests with Nigerian voters.
Amupitan stated this on Wednesday at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, themed “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
He acknowledged that artificial intelligence could significantly influence electoral processes, including information dissemination, election logistics and attempts to manipulate the democratic process.
The INEC chairman, however, stressed that the technology must remain subject to human judgment and the authority of democratic institutions.
He warned that fabricated audio recordings, videos and images generated or manipulated using AI could mislead voters and undermine public confidence in credible electoral information.
Amupitan described the 2027 general elections as one of Africa’s largest democratic exercises, noting that INEC would conduct the polls for more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units in 774 local government areas.
He said the elections would cover presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state Houses of Assembly contests.
The commission, he added, had procured additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, digitised candidate nominations through its INEC Candidates Nomination Portal and processed more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties.
He also identified online voter registration as part of the commission’s efforts to improve electoral administration.
According to Amupitan, AI offers opportunities to improve election logistics and route planning, audit election results, manage biometric databases, engage voters in multiple languages and strengthen cybersecurity.
He nevertheless maintained that critical electoral decisions would not be surrendered to automated systems.
The forum, co-convened by INEC and Yiaga Africa, brought together electoral officials, political party leaders, civil society organisations, media executives, security agencies, technology companies and international development partners to discuss safeguarding Nigeria’s electoral process against emerging AI-related threats.
