INEC says AI will support, not decide, Nigeria’s 2027 election
publishers 256articles 455first reported 28 Sep, 20:00 UTCdeveloping since 29 Sep · 33 editionstop 25 #17
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission said artificial intelligence would be used to improve electoral operations in 2027 but would not determine the outcome of the general election.
Speaking at the AI and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said the choice of the country’s leaders belonged exclusively to voters. He said the commission could use AI-driven geospatial analysis and predictive modelling to improve logistics and meet operational demands.
Amupitan said INEC had tested predictive logistics optimisation during elections and by-elections held since he took office in October 2025. According to him, reports from civil society groups and election observers showed improvements in the early deployment of materials and the start of voting.
He also said AI components were already present in some election technology, including the facial-recognition and fingerprint functions used by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System. INEC is refining its systems to ensure the technology is used lawfully, he added, while some details would remain undisclosed because of cybersecurity concerns.
Earlier in October, Amupitan said INEC had created a dedicated AI division within its information and communications technology department. He said automated auditing tools had also been incorporated into result verification under a governance framework requiring human oversight. The commission is finalising a policy governing AI use throughout the electoral process.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 8 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 642 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 256
- Source articles
- 455
- Given to the writer
- 8, 8 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 642 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →