2027: Nigerians, not algorithms, will decide election – INEC chairman

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has assured Nigerians that citizens, not algorithms, will determine the outcome of the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026, organised in collaboration with Yiaga Africa.

The forum had the theme, “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

Responding to a question at the opening plenary, titled “Will Algorithms Decide the 2027 Vote?”, the INEC chairman said: “Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote.”

He said the digital landscape had changed significantly since the 2023 elections, with artificial intelligence increasingly capable of influencing the information voters receive and their trust in electoral processes.

According to him, while AI could shape the information environment and improve electoral logistics, its misuse posed a significant threat, particularly through the manipulation of voters with artificially generated content.

Amupitan warned that generative AI had made it easier to create deepfake videos showing candidates and public officials making statements they never made.

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He said such content could falsely announce a candidate’s withdrawal, claim that an election had been postponed or circulate inflammatory statements, potentially misleading voters before the claims could be debunked.

He also warned against the impersonation of INEC officials to circulate fake electoral guidelines or fabricated results.

To address these threats, Amupitan disclosed that INEC had established an AI Unit within its Information and Communication Technology Directorate, equipped with real-time monitoring tools, deepfake detection software and data analytics to identify threats and information manipulation.

He stressed that critical electoral decisions, result collation, voter accreditation and candidate qualification would not be fully automated or delegated to autonomous systems.

“Human accountability, statutory oversight and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain,” he said.

The INEC chairman added that AI tools deployed for logistics and database management would undergo audits to ensure explainability, fairness and security.

He said the commission was also developing a Digital Strategy to assess the electoral information environment and working with technology platforms to debunk AI-generated falsehoods quickly.

Amupitan, however, said AI could improve election administration by supporting planning, accuracy and the deployment of personnel and materials.

He explained that geospatial analytics could help INEC deploy staff and election materials to 176,846 polling units before 7:30 a.m. on election day by analysing traffic, weather and security data.

He added that AI could support parallel statistical audits of polling unit results uploaded through the eEC8A, help detect duplicate registrations in the register of more than 103 million voters, translate voter education materials into indigenous languages and strengthen cybersecurity for platforms such as IReV and the Candidates Nomination Portal.

The chairman said the proposed applications would build on existing electoral reforms, including the Smart Card Reader, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He also highlighted the commission’s digitisation of candidate nominations, introduction of online voter registration and ongoing nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Describing the 2027 elections as Africa’s largest democratic exercise, Amupitan said the process would involve more than 103 million registered voters across 774 local government areas.

He called on technology companies, including Meta, X, Google, TikTok and Telegram, to restrict the circulation of unlabelled synthetic media impersonating candidates and electoral officials and enforce disclaimers on political advertisements.

He also proposed an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition involving INEC, civil society organisations, the media and telecommunications operators to serve as an early warning network against AI-generated electoral misinformation.

The commission, he said, would work with the National Orientation Agency and other stakeholders to incorporate AI media literacy into voter education.

Amupitan urged political parties to sign an Ethical AI Code of Conduct committing them to avoid deepfakes, synthetic impersonation and botnets. He also called on security agencies, the judiciary and the media to strengthen their capacity to address election-related challenges involving AI.

He said: “Algorithms have no moral compass, no civic duty and no constitutional oath. 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.”

The forum was attended by the Chairperson of ECONEC and Chairman of the Senegal Electoral Commission, Mr Abdoulaye Sylla, alongside national commissioners, resident electoral commissioners, representatives of election management bodies, political parties, civil society organisations, security agencies, technology firms and the media.