• ECOWAS, Yiaga warn of deepfakes, voter manipulation, false results
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged to deliver credible elections in 2027 amid warnings by Yiaga Africa, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) and development partners that artificial intelligence (AI) could manipulate voters, spread false results and undermine confidence in the polls.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said the commission was preparing to conduct elections for Nigeria’s 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units in 774 local government areas, assuring that technology would support electoral administration without taking over decisions entrusted to officials by law.
Speaking at the AI and Democracy Forum 2026 organised by Yiaga Africa and partners in Abuja on Wednesday, Amupitan warned that the danger extended beyond interference with electoral infrastructure to the “hacking of voters’ minds” through digitally manufactured falsehoods.
“Algorithms will not and must never decide the 2027 votes,” he declared.
The assurance came as Yiaga Africa raised concerns about persistent voter distrust, while ECONEC and international partners sought safeguards against deepfakes, disinformation, cyber threats and the misuse of personal data.
Amupitan identified synthetic audio, fabricated endorsements, manipulated footage and automated disinformation campaigns as threats capable of misleading voters, damaging candidates’ reputations and undermining confidence in election results.
He said the speed and sophistication of AI-generated content were making it increasingly difficult for citizens to distinguish authentic political communication from manufactured falsehoods.
Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said the risks were particularly serious given the distrust surrounding Nigeria’s electoral process and lingering controversies over the deployment of technology during the 2023 general elections.
He said a recent national voting-intention survey by the organisation showed that Nigerians remained doubtful about the credibility of the electoral process and whether their votes would count in 2027.
“The climate of distrust in the electoral process is palpable and you can feel it,” Itodo said.
He argued that restoring confidence required more than deploying sophisticated technology, stressing that the integrity of those managing electoral systems was equally important.
“It is one thing to deploy technology; it is another thing for the personal integrity of those managing those technologies to deliver,” he said.
According to him, compromised individuals operating AI-powered systems could undermine the credibility of their outputs, regardless of how advanced the technology was.
Itodo also warned that inaccurate election results circulated through independent aggregation platforms could fuel political instability.
While independent organisations could monitor and aggregate results to promote transparency, he said only INEC had the legal authority to declare election results and winners.
He urged organisations involved in results aggregation to ensure that their data were accurate, their methodologies transparent and their systems open to independent auditing, saying transparency would help improve public acceptance of electoral outcomes.
Amupitan assured that no critical electoral decision, including results collation, voter accreditation and the qualification of candidates, would be fully automated or delegated to an AI system.
Human oversight, statutory procedures, judicial review and public scrutiny, he said, would remain central to electoral administration.
“AI must support the process, not replace the judgment and accountability required by law,” he said.
Giving details of preparations, the chairman disclosed that 10 of the 14 major activities on the electoral timetable had been completed under the Electoral Act 2026, while INEC had procured additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.
The commission’s candidate nomination portal, he added, had processed more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties.
Amupitan said INEC had established an AI unit within its Information and Communications Technology department and was finalising an AI governance framework in collaboration with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), with support from the British High Commission.
The British High Commission’s representative, Matthew Ayibakuro, confirmed that it was working with INEC through IFES to develop a regulatory and governance framework for AI in election administration ahead of the polls.
Ayibakuro described the intersection of AI and democracy as one of the defining challenges of the present time, given the opportunities the technology offered and the risks it posed to democratic processes.
He said the UK-supported initiative sought to ensure that electoral technology strengthened Nigeria’s democracy rather than created new vulnerabilities, expressing hope that the forum would produce a collaborative framework and practical safeguards.
Chairman of Senegal’s Electoral Commission and head of ECONEC, Abdoulaye Sylla, said the challenge facing West African democracies was no longer whether AI would influence elections, but how to ensure that its use strengthened electoral integrity.
He identified disinformation, deepfakes, algorithmic bias, data privacy violations, cyber threats and voter manipulation as risks electoral institutions must prepare to confront.
Sylla said ECONEC was developing guidelines on AI in elections across West Africa to promote responsible adoption, protect voters’ rights and ensure that electoral decisions remained subject to human oversight.
The guidelines, he explained, would provide electoral management bodies with a common framework of principles, standards and practical safeguards for managing emerging technologies.
He called for greater cooperation among electoral commissions, warning that digitally manipulated content and other technology-driven threats could affect several countries simultaneously.
“The credibility of our elections in the years ahead will depend not only on the sophistication of the technologies we deploy, but also on the integrity of the institutions that govern them and the trust of the citizens they serve,” he said.
Sylla assured Nigeria of ECONEC’s support through regional cooperation, peer learning and the exchange of experiences as the country prepares for the 2027 elections.
On measures to protect the polls, Amupitan called for a coordinated response involving political parties, technology companies, security agencies, the media, civil society and the judiciary.
He urged political parties and candidates to voluntarily commit to an ethical code prohibiting deepfakes, synthetic impersonation and deceptive automated accounts used to mislead voters or discredit opponents.
He also called on digital platforms, including Meta, X, Google, TikTok, Telegram and Microsoft, to strengthen measures for identifying and labelling synthetic political content, introduce clear disclaimers for political advertisements and curb manipulative targeting based on ethnicity, religion and other sensitive demographic characteristics.
Amupitan proposed an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition involving INEC, civil society organisations, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigerian Fact-Checking Coalition, media organisations and telecommunications operators.
The coalition, he said, would help identify, verify and counter electoral falsehoods in real time, particularly during campaigns and on election days.
He said digital watermarking, content credentials and deepfake-detection tools could help establish the authenticity of digital materials, while public education would equip voters to question suspicious claims before sharing them.
The commission was also working with the National Orientation Agency, civil society groups and the media to strengthen digital literacy and incorporate AI awareness into voter education.
Amupitan cited a misleading video circulated during an election in the Federal Capital Territory, which purported to show National Youth Service Corps members being attacked.
Investigations, he said, established that the footage dated back to 2011 and was unrelated to the election in question.
He said the incident illustrated how old footage could be repackaged as breaking news to frighten voters, discourage participation and create a false impression of insecurity.
The European Union also warned that AI-generated disinformation and deepfakes could undermine citizens’ ability to make informed electoral choices.
Vittorio Capici, Programme Officer for Regional Peace and Security at the EU Delegation to Nigeria, said AI offered opportunities to improve access to information, support civic participation and strengthen electoral processes, but its misuse could manipulate public debate and weaken trust in electoral institutions.
He said the EU, alongside the German and Danish governments, was supporting the €29 million Support to ECOWAS in Peace, Security and Governance programme to strengthen democratic governance, electoral institutions and peaceful electoral processes across West Africa.
Addressing AI-related electoral risks, he stressed, required coordinated action by governments, electoral bodies, civil society organisations, technology companies and development partners.
“Democracy has always had to adapt to technological change. And what really matters is that innovation does not come at the expense of democratic principles, public trust and the rights of citizens,” he said.
Director for Democratic Futures in Africa at the Open Society Foundations, Chukwuemeka Eze, said the debate extended beyond technology to the future of political power, citizen participation and accountability.
He said AI could expand civic space, improve civic education, strengthen government accountability and create opportunities for young people to participate in democratic processes.
However, he warned that it could also spread disinformation, generate deepfakes, manipulate public opinion and deepen existing inequalities, particularly between urban and rural communities.
Eze urged African countries to become active participants in shaping how AI was designed, governed and deployed, identifying citizens’ rights, democratic integrity and investment in Africa’s technological capacity as critical priorities.
He also called for stronger digital literacy, responsible journalism, transparent political communication and effective safeguards against electoral manipulation.
“The question is whether we will shape AI in ways that strengthen democracy,” he said.
Tari Wills, an associate at Luminate, said technology should serve people rather than harm them, expressing hope that the forum would encourage government and non-governmental institutions to harness it for Nigerians’ benefit.
On practical applications, Amupitan said INEC was exploring AI for predictive logistics, including analysing road networks, traffic conditions, weather and security information to improve the movement of election materials and personnel.
The technology, he explained, could help audit accreditation and results data, identify mathematical inconsistencies, detect unusual entries on result sheets and flag poor-quality images for further examination.
Other potential applications included biometric checks for duplicate registrations, multilingual voter education and the detection of cyber threats targeting electoral infrastructure.
He cautioned that these benefits would depend on safeguards against algorithmic bias, digital exclusion, cyberattacks and the misuse of personal data.
Amupitan urged security agencies to strengthen their capacity for cybercrime investigations, digital forensics and the tracking of coordinated online threats.
He also called on the judiciary to prepare for disputes involving AI-generated evidence and synthetic media, while encouraging media organisations to develop digital forensic capacity.
The chairman highlighted improvements in online voter registration and decentralised collection of Permanent Voter Cards, as well as the testing of downloadable voter card technology during the Osun governorship election for voters whose cards were lost or damaged.
Reports from civil society organisations and election observers, he said, indicated improvements in the early deployment of personnel and commencement of voting in recent elections, which he attributed partly to predictive and geospatial planning.
Amupitan also said INEC had introduced a campus debate initiative to encourage young Nigerians to engage with questions of elections, democracy and electoral integrity, with the finale scheduled for November 3 in Abuja.
He maintained that the credibility of the 2027 elections would depend on transparency, accountability and citizens’ ability to make informed choices, with the ultimate decision resting with Nigerian voters.
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