Prof. Joash Amupitan, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has told Nigerians that the commission will be ready to electronically transmit election results in 2027 but has cautioned that it may not be able to guarantee a “100 percent perfect election.”
Amupitan spoke on Sunday at the Citizens’ Town Hall event, which aired live on major media networks and was titled ‘Electoral Act 2026: What it implies for your votes in the 2027 elections.’
The live electoral debate was hosted by prominent presenter Seun Okinbaloye and Yiaga Africa’s executive director, Samson Itodo.
Among those in attendance were Nentawe Yilwatda, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress; Nenadi Usman, interim national chairman of the Labour Party; as well as former minister of education Oby Ezekwesili and senator Ireti Kingibe.
Amupitan urged Nigerians to manage expectations, saying the commission would strive for excellence but could not promise perfection.
“Let me just appeal to Nigerians, because I have noticed now that what Nigerians desire is a perfect election. And INEC will strive as much as possible to give this country the best election.
“However, we may not be able to achieve a 100 per cent perfect election for now. But as far as electronic transmission of results is concerned, I said it before the FCT Area Council that we have the capacity to transmit the results and that we’re going to transmit the results. The only concern was real-time,” he stated.
The INEC boss described elections as central to democratic governance, emphasizing the importance of voter education and institutional transparency.
“Election, for that matter, is the lifeblood of democracy. According to Abraham Lincoln, the ballot is more powerful than the bullets. Also, the ignorance of a voter is very inimical to the security of a nation.
“So, that is why we cannot underscore the role of INEC, as well as the civil society, in guaranteeing a transparent and credible election,” he stated.
Amupitan mentioned that INEC was actively involved in the process that produced the Electoral Act 2026, which he said began about three years ago through a joint committee comprising members of the National Assembly, civil society organizations, and the commission.
“As of the time I was taking over, the work was almost concluded. But nonetheless, we still made some important provisions and recommendations in the new acts,” he said.
Speaking on the contentious issue of electronic transmission of results—a subject that dominated debates after the 2023 general elections—Amupitan disclosed that the commission pushed for mandatory transmission during legislative deliberations.
“Now, even talking about the transmission of the results, you will notice that the original provision that came out of the retreat from the National Assembly was not exactly what you have today.
“But when INEC came in, we talked of transmission being mandatory. But let us be sincere and honest. The only problem that we had was how to define what we call real time,” he stated.
He referenced the recent Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections as a realistic example of the obstacles that real-time transmission faces, particularly in remote locations.
“Let’s look at the FCT area council election that just took place. Now, there are six area councils in the FCT. The results came out on time in five area councils. But in the Kuje area council, we have 10 wards. And the results in one ward, Kabi, did not come until the following day, Sunday.
“Now, on Saturday, when we mobilized and sent people to that ward from Kuje town, Kabi Ward is about three-and-a-half hours’ drive. And the terrain is very bad. So I was worried.
“When we sent our polling officials and security agencies to that ward, the moment they entered that place, we could not reach them. They were not accessible by phone. And nobody could speak to them until we had to send somebody on Saturday morning, just to be sure that they were safe, before we now got the results.
“They brought the results to Kuje town. And then it was collated along with the remaining nine words before the result could be declared,” he explained.
The head of INEC maintained that transmission was not the main issue despite the delay.
“I don’t see the issue of transmission as really a problem. I don’t see it as an issue because, from my little experience, over four months now in INEC, the problem is not even the network.
“The problem I have seen is the adequacy of the network we have. For instance, you expect that in a place like FCT, you should be able to transmit your results without any encumbrance. But we had a situation where it was impossible for us to have a real-time transmission of results, especially from the Kabi ward, until the following day. And in some of the wards, some results were transmitted,” he said.
Amupitan warned that operational errors could erode public trust and directly related election credibility to logistics.
“So, talking about logistics, I’ve said it often that your election can be as good as your logistics. So, where there is logistics failure, you know that you are beginning to fail.”
He acknowledged that there were “some logistic issues” with the FCT poll, including human error, but said the commission was already taking care of them.
“As a regulatory body, we’re determined to achieve all this. But nonetheless, we have to admit that there were some logistical issues. Some were purely human, which we are trying to address,” he added.
However, he voiced hope that the general elections in 2027 will be a major improvement over earlier surveys, pointing to rising voter knowledge and popular desire for accountability.
“But I want to assure you that the election of 2027 will be the best election that Nigerians will have because Nigerians of 2023 are different from what you have in 2027. People are much more aware. And you know the correlation between elections and development.
“Nobody is happy about the classification of Nigeria as an underdeveloped country. So we want a situation where our process will be able to guarantee the confidence and the transparency that people want to see in their system.
“So, by the time you have a transparent election and people begin to trust INEC and trust their leaders, then the country will move forward,” he stated.
