INEC identifies six threats that could undermine 2027 elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified security risks, electoral violence, vote-buying, hate speech, disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference as major threats to the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when he received a Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) delegation from the International Republican Institute (IRI), led by former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Jendayi Frazier.

Amupitan warned that the six challenges could undermine voter confidence and disrupt the electoral process if not effectively addressed.

The meeting came three days after the Osun State governorship election and a day before the formal commencement of campaigns and rallies for the 2027 elections.

The INEC chairman said the IRI assessment would provide an independent perspective as the commission moved into full-scale preparations for the general elections.

He disclosed that INEC was preparing to deploy about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel to more than 176,000 polling units across the country.

Amupitan also said the commission was deploying the Automated Biometric Identification System under the Continuous Voter Registration framework to detect duplicate registrations and maintain an accurate National Register of Voters.

According to him, recent off-cycle governorship elections and legislative by-elections have provided opportunities to test INEC’s logistics, security arrangements and technological systems ahead of 2027.

He said the use of technology had reduced vulnerabilities associated with previous electoral processes, particularly through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the electronic publication of polling unit results on the INEC Result Viewing portal.

“The performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, for dual biometric verification and the real-time public display of Polling Unit result sheets, Form EC8A, on the INEC Result Viewing, IReV, portal continues to demonstrate high operational reliability, achieving upload rates above 98 per cent in recent off-cycle contests,” he said.

The commission, he added, was also planning voter register audits and early transportation arrangements to ensure polling units opened by 8:30 a.m.

Amupitan said INEC was equally improving assistive devices and arrangements for persons with disabilities, pregnant women and elderly voters.

On security and campaign financing, the INEC chairman said the commission was working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, as well as anti-corruption agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

He said the collaboration would strengthen monitoring of campaign finance, enforcement of electoral laws and prosecution of offenders.

Amupitan urged stakeholders to work collectively to address the identified threats and safeguard the credibility of the 2027 electoral process.