- Declares INEC must deliver Credible polls for 103m voters in 176,846 polling units nationwide
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has declared that artificial intelligence (AI) will not be allowed to determine the outcome of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, warning that deepfakes, fabricated audio and coordinated disinformation pose a growing threat to electoral credibility.
Amupitan, who spoke at the AI and Democracy Forum 2026 organised by YIAGA Africa and partners in Abuja on Wednesday, said the commission would deploy technology to strengthen electoral processes without surrendering critical decisions to automated systems.
“Algorithms will not and must never decide the 2027 votes,” he declared, insisting that the authority to determine election outcomes must remain within Nigeria’s legally established electoral framework.
He warned that the greatest danger posed by AI to elections might not be the hacking of ballot boxes or electoral databases, but the manipulation of voters through false information designed to distort their understanding of candidates, issues and election results.
“The greatest threats to our democracy is not hacking of ballot boxes, but the hacking of voters’ minds,” the INEC chairman said.
He identified deepfake videos, synthetic audio, fabricated endorsements, manipulated footage and automated disinformation campaigns as emerging threats capable of misleading voters, damaging candidates’ reputations and undermining public confidence in election results.
According to him, the speed and sophistication of AI-generated content have made it increasingly difficult for citizens to distinguish genuine political communication from deliberately manufactured falsehoods.
Amupitan said INEC was taking steps to ensure that technological innovation did not weaken transparency, accountability and public trust in the electoral process.
He disclosed that the commission 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.
He also said the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) had validated guidelines for the responsible use of AI in elections.
The INEC chairman stressed 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.
He said human oversight, statutory procedures, judicial review and public scrutiny would remain central to electoral administration.
“AI must support the process, not replace the judgment and accountability required by law,” he said.
Amupitan said the commission was exploring the use of AI for predictive logistics, including the analysis of road networks, traffic conditions, weather and security information to improve the movement of election materials and personnel.
The technology, he added could also assist in auditing accreditation and results data, identifying mathematical inconsistencies, detecting unusual entries on result sheets and flagging poor-quality images for further examination.
The INEC Chairman added that AI could support biometric checks for duplicate registrations, multilingual voter education and the detection of cyber threats targeting electoral infrastructure.
However, he warned that the benefits of these applications would depend on appropriate safeguards against algorithmic bias, digital exclusion, cyberattacks and the misuse of personal data.
The chairman said INEC would not rely on technology alone to protect the 2027 elections, calling 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 the use of deepfakes, synthetic impersonation and deceptive automated accounts 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 sensitive demographic characteristics such as ethnicity and religion.
Amupitan proposed the establishment of 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 proposed coalition, he said, would help identify, verify and counter electoral falsehoods in real time, particularly during the campaign period and on election days.
He said measures such as 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, he added, was 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 not connected to the election in question.
The incident, he said, illustrated how old footage could be repackaged as breaking news to frighten voters, discourage participation and create a false impression of insecurity.
He called on security agencies to strengthen their capacity for cybercrime investigations, digital forensics and the tracking of coordinated online threats.
He also urged the judiciary to prepare for disputes involving AI-generated evidence and synthetic media, while encouraging media organisations to develop digital forensic capacity.
On preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan said INEC was working towards delivering credible polls for Nigeria’s 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units in 774 local government areas.
He said 10 of the 14 major activities on the electoral timetable had been completed under the Electoral Act 2026.
The commission, he added, had procured additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, while its candidate nomination portal had processed more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties.
He also 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.
Amupitan said reports from civil society organisations and election observers had indicated improvements in the early deployment of personnel and the commencement of voting in recent elections, which he attributed partly to predictive and geospatial planning.
He said INEC had also 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.
The chairman urged political actors to resist the temptation to exploit AI-generated content for electoral advantage, warning that false information could deepen divisions and erode confidence in democratic institutions.
He said protecting the 2027 elections would require more than deploying sophisticated technology, stressing that the credibility of the process would depend on transparency, accountability and the ability of citizens to make informed choices.
Amupitan maintained that AI should remain a tool for improving electoral administration rather than an instrument for manipulating public opinion or determining electoral outcomes.
He said the ultimate decision must rest with Nigerian voters, not technology or the algorithms that increasingly shape the information they consume.
The post Algorithms will not decide 2027 elections, INEC Chairman declares appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.