Folalumi Alaran in Abuja
With public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral course of underneath stress and shaky, 5 civil society organisations have unveiled plans to deploy greater than 4,000 observers and use synthetic intelligence to scrutinise outcomes and doc irregularities in the course of the 2027 common election.
The initiative, underneath the Nigeria Election Data Observatory (NEDO) Consortium, is designed to strengthen unbiased monitoring of voting, outcome collation and transmission, whereas enabling collaborating organisations to cross-check electoral info and expose discrepancies.
The consortium, comprising Dataphyte Foundation, Yiaga Africa, BudgIT Foundation, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), and DEAN Initiative, was launched in Abuja yesterday.
At the center of the initiative is a shared information platform that can mix info from election observers, media organisations and expertise techniques to construct an unbiased proof base in opposition to which official election info will be examined.
The platform will use synthetic intelligence (AI)-powered optical character recognition (OCR) to transform result-sheet photos revealed on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV) into machine-readable information, enabling the system to flag potential discrepancies for additional verification.
Under the association, figures recorded on outcome sheets will be analysed for inconsistencies, together with discrepancies between votes recorded and related voter figures. The system can also be designed to determine errors starting from typographical errors to probably severe irregularities.
The consortium stated the expertise would help the identification and documentation of questionable figures as outcome sheets are uploaded, fairly than leaving discrepancies to emerge solely after the collation course of.
The initiative got here in opposition to the backdrop of persistent issues about electoral credibility. A September 2026 nationwide voting intentions survey by Yiaga Africa discovered that solely 34 per cent of respondents expressed confidence in INEC’s skill to conduct credible elections.
Speaking on behalf of the consortium, Dataphyte Foundation Country Director, Oluseyi Olufemi, stated NEDO was established to deal with fragmentation in election commentary, civic information administration and data sharing amongst organisations working to guard electoral integrity.
The consortium stated the difficulties surrounding IReV in the course of the 2023 common elections had demonstrated the significance of coordinated civic assets able to consolidating commentary information and independently checking electoral info.
With greater than 4,000 observers deliberate for the 2027 elections, the initiative will draw on collaborating organisations’ networks, together with Yiaga Africa’s Watching The Vote observers, to doc voting, electoral incidents, collation, and outcomes.
Information gathered from the sector shall be in contrast with official outcomes and different accessible proof to assist determine inconsistencies, confirm competing claims and supply a stronger foundation for public reporting.
CJID will even join the initiative to collaborating newsrooms and fact-checking networks, enabling journalists to hunt corroboration from observers in related areas earlier than publishing claims about electoral incidents.
The consortium stated the association would assist counter misinformation and conflicting experiences whereas giving the media entry to a broader physique of independently gathered proof.
It additionally unveiled the NEDO App, by way of which area observers will doc developments all through the electoral course of. Dataphyte Foundation Programme Manager, Abdulahi Adebayo, stated the applying would feed info right into a shared proof repository for evaluation, reporting, visualisation, advocacy and public communication.
However, the consortium acknowledged that the expertise itself would require safety in opposition to deliberate interference. It stated it was engaged on transparency, accountability and auditing mechanisms, together with engagement with INEC on technical glitches and system integrity.
The initiative will even embody pre-election surveys and assessments led by DEAN Initiative to look at electoral preparedness, residents’ perceptions and rising dangers. Findings will inform a National Election Readiness Report, regional briefs, and periodic scenario experiences.
After the elections, the consortium plans to analyse its proof alongside official outcomes and publish a post-election report, with related information made accessible for analysis, advocacy, and electoral reform.
