By Annette Ikponmwonba | October 26, 2026
Key Points
· INEC has assured Nigerians that artificial intelligence will not determine the outcome of the 2027 general election
· INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan made the statement at the AI and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja
· He said AI-driven geospatial analysis and predictive modelling can help improve election logistics
· AI components are already embedded in technologies such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System
· INEC has set up a dedicated AI division within its ICT Department to support result verification and cybersecurity
· The commission is finalising an AI governance policy, with mandatory human oversight
Main Story
The Independent National Electoral Commission has assured Nigerians that artificial intelligence will not determine the outcome of the 2027 general election, insisting that the choice of who leads the country belongs to the electorate. INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan stated this at the AI and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, where he explained how the commission intends to use AI to improve electoral operations without replacing voters’ decisions.
Asked whether algorithms will decide the 2027 vote, Amupitan was firm. “Let me, as the chair of INEC, answer it unequivocally: no! Algorithms will not and must never decide the 2027 votes. Algorithms will not decide the votes because the choice of who leads Nigeria belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people,” he said.
He said AI-driven geospatial analysis and predictive modelling could help the commission improve election logistics and meet its operational demands. Since assuming office on October 23, 2025, he said, he had overseen five major elections and more than 16 by-elections, during which INEC tested predictive logistics optimisation. He added that reports from civil society organisations and election observers indicated improvements in the early deployment of election materials and the start of voting.
The Issues
Public anxiety about technology in elections is high, particularly around result transmission and the possibility of manipulation. By stating plainly that algorithms will not decide the vote, INEC is trying to head off fears that AI could be used to alter or influence outcomes, and to separate operational support from the act of choosing a leader.
Amupitan also acknowledged that AI is already part of INEC’s toolkit. Facial recognition and fingerprint technologies used for voter accreditation involve AI components, as did the smart card readers previously used by the commission. This means the question is less about whether AI is used and more about how it is governed, who oversees it and how transparent the process is.
There is a transparency tension as well. The commission said it could not publicly disclose some details of its preparations because of cybersecurity concerns, which may be justified but could leave critics and observers wanting more information about how the systems work.
What’s Being Said
Amupitan said INEC was refining its systems to address challenges associated with AI and ensure the technology was deployed for lawful purposes. He recalled that at a press conference on October 6, he said the commission had established a dedicated AI division within its Information and Communication Technology Department to support result verification and strengthen cybersecurity ahead of the 2027 elections.
He also said INEC had integrated automated AI auditing tools into its result verification process under a five-pillar AI governance framework, with mandatory human oversight. According to him, the commission is finalising its AI governance policy to guide the use of the technology throughout the electoral process.
What’s Next
Attention will turn to the release of INEC’s AI governance policy, which is expected to set out how the technology will be used across the electoral process. Civil society groups and election observers are likely to scrutinise its details, especially the human oversight provisions, The commission will continue testing its systems in upcoming by-elections and other polls, and the performance of its logistics tools and accreditation technology will be watched closely as the 2027 general election approaches.
Bottom Line
INEC is promising that AI will support, but never replace, the voters’ decision in 2027, using it for logistics, accreditation and result verification under human oversight, though public confidence will depend on how transparent the final governance policy proves to be.
