INEC Sets Limits on AI, Insists Technology Must Not Decide 2027 Election Outcomes
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has acknowledged that the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) raises concerns about transparency, human oversight and accountability in...
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has acknowledged that the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) raises concerns about transparency, human oversight and accountability in electoral management, but said the technology would not be allowed to determine election outcomes.
INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan made the remarks on Wednesday at the AI and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja. Co-convened by INEC and Yiaga Africa, the forum brought together electoral officials, political party leaders, civil society organisations, media executives, security agencies, technology companies, and international development partners under the theme “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”. He urged stakeholders to deploy AI responsibly to strengthen, rather than undermine, democracy.
Professor Amupitan warned that although artificial intelligence could influence electoral administration and the information available to voters, the technology must remain subordinate to human judgement. He added that while technology could help improve election logistics, voter registration, results verification, and cybersecurity, questions remain about how errors will be identified, who will be held responsible for failures, and what safeguards will protect the integrity of the process.
According to the chairman, INEC is developing an AI governance framework to guide the use of the technology in elections. The framework is expected to emphasise integrity, transparency, human intervention, and public auditing.
“Algorithms will not and must never decide the 2027 vote. The choice of who leads Nigeria belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people. Algorithms may predict patterns; they may optimise routes, and they may even suggest preferences. But they do not have a conscience; they do not have a country, and they do not have a vote.
“No critical electoral decision, result collation, voter accreditation, or candidate qualification will ever be fully automated or delegated to an autonomous system.
“Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain.
No critical electoral decision, result collation, voter accreditation, or candidate qualification will ever be fully automated or delegated to an autonomous system,” he said.
“Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain.
The INEC Chairman then raised a warning that the spread of fabricated audio, videos and images could mislead voters and undermine public confidence in genuine electoral information.
“The greatest threat we face is not the hacking of a ballot box, but the hacking of the voter’s mind.
“If a voter cannot distinguish between truth and a synthetic lie, the foundation of informed consent crumbles,” Professor Amupitan said.
Speaking further on the connection between technology and the 2027 polls, the INEC chairman noted that the commission is preparing to conduct elections involving more than 100 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory and it would need the technology to assist in identifying mathematical inconsistencies and unusual patterns in uploaded polling-unit results before they are reviewed by election officials.
He added that the commission had procured additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, digitised candidate nominations through its INEC Candidates Nomination Portal and processed more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties.
In his submission, Mr Samson Itodo, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, said distrust remained a major challenge ahead of the 2027 elections, citing findings from the organisation’s national voting-intention survey.
Mr Itodo also cautioned that deploying technology alone would not guarantee credible elections, stressing that the integrity of the people managing electoral systems remained equally important.
His comments underscore the need for electoral technology to operate within transparent procedures that allow stakeholders to understand how systems work and how problems are resolved.
With Nigeria’s 2027 General Elections approaching, the message is clear: technological innovation must not come at the expense of electoral credibility, citizens’ rights and public trust.
Mr Itodo made reference to the report issued by Yiaga Africa issued a national voting intention survey report, where it is obvious that Nigerians doubt the credibility of the process and that their votes will not count in 2027.
The survey was designed to assess voter interest and participation and identify factors that could encourage or discourage Nigerians from taking part in the elections.
He then explained that the deployment of technology alone would not guarantee credible elections, stressing that the integrity of those managing the 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.
He then raised concerns about the growing number of AI-powered platforms being developed to aggregate election results ahead of the 2027 elections, encouraging relevant stakeholders to continue to use different tools and platforms to keep an eye on the results process.
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