The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is planning a mock presidential election ahead of the 2027 general elections to test the reliability of its electoral technology systems and identify possible weaknesses before election day.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, saying the exercise would test voter accreditation, results transmission and result viewing under conditions similar to those of an actual presidential election.
Amupitan, who spoke through National Commissioner, Sani Adam, SAN, at the 13th Annual International Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria, ACSPN, also disclosed that the Commission was conducting a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology systems as part of preparations for the 2027 polls.
The conference, held at the National Open University Conference Centre, Abuja, had as its theme, “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruption and the New Dynamics of Electoral Communication.”
According to the INEC chairman, the technology audit would cover system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery planning, while the proposed mock election would provide an opportunity to test the resilience of the systems before they are deployed for the general elections.
He said INEC had also proposed a substantial budget for the 2027 elections, with significant allocations for technology and election operations, including new voter accreditation devices to replace those lost or damaged during the 2023 election.
Amupitan said although the Commission was still awaiting full release of the funds, its ICT team had commenced engagements with manufacturers on procurement, while preparations for the technology audit and mock election were proceeding alongside budget finalisation.
He said the lessons from the 2023 general elections had underscored the need for electoral technology to be reliable, properly understood and supported by effective communication.
The chairman noted that the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV, was intended to enhance public confidence by allowing citizens to view polling unit results before their movement through the collation process.
He, however, acknowledged that the performance of electoral technology during the 2023 elections also generated public concerns, stressing that technological innovation could undermine rather than strengthen trust when systems failed or their operations were poorly communicated.
Amupitan further warned that the growing use of artificial intelligence had created a new dimension to electoral threats, particularly through the production and rapid distribution of synthetic videos, audio recordings and images.
He said AI-driven disinformation could reach millions of social media users before verification was possible, adding that the threat extended beyond fabricated content to algorithmic microtargeting, through which different groups of voters could receive conflicting political messages without a common factual basis.
He therefore called for electoral technology and communication to be treated as a single discipline, arguing that the credibility of the electoral process now depended as much on how information was understood and trusted as on the integrity of the ballot and electoral technology.
The INEC chairman outlined a five-point strategy that included integrating technology and communication planning, establishing a rapid-response mechanism to counter falsehoods within the same news cycle, proactively communicating known vulnerabilities and safeguards, deepening collaboration with media scholars, fact-checkers and technology platforms, and investing continuously in public media literacy.
He said Nigeria’s 2027 electorate would be younger and more mobile-first, with smartphones serving as the primary source of electoral information for many voters.
Amupitan cautioned, however, that solutions adopted from other countries must be adapted to Nigeria’s realities, including internet access, language diversity and institutional trust.
He stressed that INEC’s response to disinformation would be to provide accurate and timely information rather than restrict legitimate journalism or civic dissent.
He also invited ACSPN and communication scholars to collaborate with the Commission on media literacy research, synthetic content detection, and training for journalists and civic educators, expressing optimism that the partnership would help strengthen public confidence in the 2027 electoral process.
