The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has insisted that artificial intelligence (AI) and computer algorithms will not determine the outcome of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, stressing that the power to choose the country’s leaders rests solely with voters.
Amupitan made the declaration at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, themed “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”.
“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” he said.
According to the INEC chairman, while algorithms can predict patterns, optimise routes and suggest preferences, they lack the conscience, national identity and voting rights required to determine electoral outcomes.
“The choice of who leads Nigeria belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people,” he added.
Amupitan acknowledged that AI would significantly influence the information environment in which citizens make electoral choices, improve election logistics and change the strategies employed by democratic actors and those seeking to disrupt the electoral process.
He described the 2027 general elections as the largest democratic exercise on the African continent and one of the world’s most complex administrative undertakings.
The election is expected to involve more than 103 million registered voters, 176,846 polling units across 774 local government areas, and multiple ballots for presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly elections.
The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had completed 10 of the 14 major operational milestones stipulated by the Electoral Act 2026.
He also listed measures taken to strengthen election administration, including procuring additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) units, digitising candidate nominations through the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal (ICNP), processing more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties, and introducing online voter registration in Nigeria.
How INEC plans to use AI
Amupitan identified several areas where AI could improve electoral administration, including predictive logistics, route optimisation, automated assistance with result audits, biometric database management, multilingual voter engagement through Natural Language Processing, and AI-driven cybersecurity.
However, he stressed that technological advancement would not replace human oversight in critical electoral processes.
He said decisions concerning election results, voter accreditation and candidate qualifications would not be fully automated or delegated to autonomous systems.
“Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain,” he said.
Yiaga Africa calls for transparent AI systems
Earlier, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, emphasised the importance of accurate data, transparent methodologies and auditable AI systems in protecting electoral integrity.
The forum was jointly convened by INEC and Yiaga Africa, bringing together electoral officials, diplomats, political party leaders, civil society organisations, media executives, security agencies, technology companies, international development partners and academics.
Participants included the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions and Chairman of Senegal’s Electoral Commission, Abdoulaye Sylla, alongside national commissioners, resident electoral commissioners and representatives of election management bodies across Africa.
