The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that Artificial Intelligence (AI) may affect how Nigerians vote within the 2027 common elections however insisted that the know-how mustn’t ever decide who emerges because the nation’s subsequent president.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the reassurance on Wednesday in Abuja whereas delivering a keynote deal with on the AI and Democracy Forum 2026, organised by Yiaga Africa in partnership with the fee and different stakeholders.
Amupitan acknowledged that AI may considerably affect the knowledge out there to voters, elevating considerations about its potential misuse throughout elections.
“Will algorithms decide the 2027 votes?” he requested.
“No, algorithms won’t and mustn’t ever resolve the 2027 vote.
“2027 votes must be decided by the sovereign people of Nigeria,” he declared.
The INEC chairman warned that the rising affect of AI introduced each alternatives and threats to Nigeria’s electoral course of.
“AI will undeniably shape the information environment in which citizens form their choices, influence the speed and security of electoral logistics, and alter the tactics of both democratic actors and anti-democratic actors,” he stated.
He maintained that electoral authorities should stop the know-how from undermining voters’ rights or compromising the credibility of elections.
“Our task, therefore, at this forum and within the commission, is to ensure that AI remains a servant of democracy, not its master,” Amupitan acknowledged.
The chairman disclosed that INEC was exploring AI-powered methods to detect suspicious voting patterns, mathematical inconsistencies and different irregularities in outcomes uploaded from polling models.
According to him, the know-how may assist establish errors earlier than outcomes are accepted into the fee’s outcomes administration system, though human oversight and statutory procedures would stay important.
Amupitan additionally revealed that INEC had established a devoted AI unit inside its Information and Communication Technology division and was finalising a governance framework to manage the know-how’s deployment.
He defined that AI may enhance election logistics, establish duplicate biometric data and strengthen cybersecurity throughout the fee’s digital platforms.
The chairman stated managing greater than 100 million registered voters throughout 176,846 polling models would require efficient technological assist, significantly in communities affected by insecurity and tough terrain.
However, Yiaga Africa Executive Director, Samson Itodo, warned that introducing superior know-how wouldn’t mechanically assure credible elections.
He expressed concern over declining public confidence within the electoral course of, citing findings from a current nationwide voting intention survey.
“It is one thing to deploy technology; it is another thing for the personal integrity of those managing those technologies to deliver,” Itodo stated.
He additionally cautioned in opposition to AI-powered platforms presenting themselves as authorities on election outcomes, stressing that INEC alone has the obligation to declare winners.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, whereas governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections will happen on February 6, 2027.
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