2027: INEC receives 5,400 complaints over voter register

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has received more than 5,400 claims and objections over its Preliminary Register of Voters as it moves to clean up the database ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The figure comprises over 4,800 claims and about 600 objections submitted during the display of the preliminary register, INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, disclosed on Friday in Abuja.

Amupitan spoke while receiving the ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission at the commission’s national headquarters, saying the complaints were recorded as of Thursday.

He explained that most of the claims involved corrections and other minor discrepancies, while the online display of the register had helped identify additional errors.

“The display of the register online is also confirming some of the complaints we had earlier received,” he said.

The INEC chairman assured Nigerians that all valid claims and objections would be addressed before the commission certifies the Final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.

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He said the exercise was critical given that the register currently contains more than 103 million voters, adding that the commission was determined to ensure its accuracy before the next general elections.

Amupitan also announced plans for a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November to test voter accreditation and results transmission simultaneously across the country.

He said INEC had introduced an additional safeguard requiring election results to be authenticated at polling units before transmission to its Election Results Viewing portal, IReV.

“The Commission had also introduced a safeguard whereby results are authenticated at the polling unit before they go to IReV,” he said.

According to him, the commission considered adopting a different technology after he assumed office but decided to improve the existing system because of time constraints.

On preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan said INEC had conducted readiness assessments in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East geopolitical zones, with plans to visit the North-Central zone the following week.

He said the assessments had prompted adjustments to deployment plans, particularly in areas facing difficult terrain and security challenges.

“During our meeting earlier this week, we realised that there are some areas that we needed higher deployments than we had planned because of the terrain and some of the security issues that are prevalent,” he said.

The chairman also said the commission had conducted four major off-cycle elections and 16 by-elections since he assumed office on October 23, 2025.

He cited the Anambra governorship election, held two weeks after his inauguration, as an example of improved election management, saying the result was concluded and announced within a day, compared with about five days in 2022.

He said lessons from the Anambra poll were applied in subsequent elections in the Federal Capital Territory, Ekiti and Osun states.

On staff welfare, Amupitan disclosed that INEC had secured approval for the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), saying better remuneration would help reduce the risk of political interference.

“If our staff are well taken care of, then the temptation from the political group will be curtailed,” he said.

He also expressed confidence in the commission’s security arrangements, citing improvements in Osun State following adjustments to security measures and closer monitoring of volatile areas.

Amupitan said INEC was refining arrangements for internally displaced persons to ensure they were not excluded from the electoral process.

He called for stronger cooperation with international partners to tackle electoral disinformation, improve logistics and strengthen voter education.

The chairman also welcomed the deployment of ECOWAS long-term and short-term election observers, describing their independent assessments as important to the credibility of Nigeria’s elections.

He assured the regional body that INEC would remain impartial, saying: “The Independent National Electoral Commission under my watch has no candidate and no political party.”

Leader of the ECOWAS mission and former Sierra Leone Vice-President, Victor Bockarie Foh, said the delegation was in Nigeria to assess preparations for the 2027 elections and engage political parties, government officials, civil society groups and other stakeholders.

The mission would also review the legal framework governing the elections and identify areas where ECOWAS could support the electoral process.

Its co-head, Dr Abbas Chernor Bundu, said the visit was aimed at assessing the preparedness of stakeholders and determining how the regional body could assist INEC.

Meanwhile, INEC said 66 petitions arising from the publication of the final lists of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates for the 2027 elections had been successful.