morganable politics/elections
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission had introduced additional technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate polling unit results and figures reflecting over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal.
KaNo—
The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed November 28, 2026, for a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise to test its upgraded electoral technology ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The exercise, which will simulate the presidential election, is expected to assess the effectiveness of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the electronic transmission of election results before the actual polls.
The commission also disclosed that it had commenced the distribution of non-sensitive election materials to some states as part of efforts to ensure adequate preparations for the 2027 elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), announced the mock election on Thursday during a dialogue at Chatham House in London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative.
The dialogue was themed, ‘Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.’
According to a press statement issued in Abuja and signed by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC chairman, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan said the mock exercise would enable the commission to identify possible operational challenges and determine whether its upgraded systems were ready for deployment during the general elections.
He said the commission was particularly interested in ensuring that voter accreditation and electronic transmission of results functioned effectively across the country.
“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right,” he said.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission had introduced additional technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate polling unit results and figures reflecting over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal.
Amupitan said a post-2023 audit conducted by the commission identified collation centres, rather than polling units, as the major source of challenges associated with election result management and declaration.
According to him, the findings informed the commission’s decision to strengthen its technological systems to prevent irregularities at the polling unit level from progressing into the electronic results platform.
“We found that the core problem of election result management and declaration in Nigeria is not even at the polling unit—it is at the collation centres.
“We have now devised a technical safeguard: if a result is not accurate at the polling unit, it will not go to IReV at all,” he said.
He explained that INEC had opted to upgrade its existing electoral technology instead of introducing an entirely new system, considering the limited time available before the 2027 elections.
Addressing concerns over the malfunctioning of BVAS during the 2023 general elections, the chairman said the commission was constructing climate-controlled storage facilities across the states to protect the devices from extreme temperatures.
He noted that the measures were designed to improve the reliability and performance of the machines during elections, particularly in areas where high temperatures could affect their operation.
Amupitan further disclosed that INEC had procured additional BVAS machines and reduced the maximum number of registered voters assigned to each device from 1,250 to 850.
Under the revised arrangement, polling units with more than 850 registered voters would be provided with multiple devices to prevent delays during voter accreditation and reduce pressure on the machines.
On the funding of the 2027 general elections, the INEC chairman said the commission had received a substantial portion of its approved election budget but was still awaiting the release of the outstanding funds.
He expressed optimism that the remaining allocation would be released before the end of November, explaining that part of the funds would be used for the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc election personnel.
Amupitan also appealed to Nigerians to give his leadership an opportunity to rebuild public confidence in the electoral commission, acknowledging that controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election had significantly affected INEC’s credibility.
“First and foremost, let me speak about what happened in 2023, which resulted in a significant trust deficit for INEC—damage so large that the commission has not yet fully recovered from it,” he said.
However, he maintained that the commission had learnt important lessons from subsequent elections and was implementing measures to address identified operational weaknesses.
He cited the recent governorship elections in Anambra and Osun states, the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, the Ekiti governorship poll and 16 legislative by-elections as opportunities through which INEC had tested its preparations and improved its electoral processes.
According to him, the results of the Anambra and Osun governorship elections were declared the day after voting, unlike the prolonged result declaration processes that characterised previous elections in the states.
“Every election is a lesson. The 2023 general election was a major lesson for Nigeria, and the Anambra election was another,” he said.
The chairman also addressed allegations questioning his political neutrality, denying operating an account on X, formerly Twitter, linked to a controversial political post.
He said the commission had obtained an independent forensic review of the matter and referred it to the Department of State Services and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.
Reaffirming his commitment to impartiality, Amupitan said his previous involvement in political disputes as a legal practitioner was undertaken in his professional capacity before his appointment as INEC chairman.
“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act,” he stated.
He also urged young Nigerians to participate actively in the electoral process and avoid spreading misinformation capable of undermining public confidence in the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, INEC has commenced the distribution of non-sensitive election materials to some states following an assessment of its preparedness across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during a meeting with a delegation from Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, led by the country’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina.
Gumus said the commission had completed nine scheduled activities and was intensifying preparations after conducting an assessment of its readiness across the six geopolitical zones.
She explained that the assessment involved visits to the zones to evaluate preparations, identify challenges and determine areas requiring additional attention before the elections.
“We have six zones in Nigeria. The purpose is to go around the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, the challenges and what to do,” she said.
The national commissioner said the commission was satisfied with the progress recorded so far and had begun moving non-sensitive materials to some parts of the country.
“Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now. I spoke to the commissioner in charge of that,” she said.
She added that the production of Permanent Voter Cards had been completed, with most states already receiving the first and second batches.
According to her, the collection of PVCs was ongoing, while the commission was encouraging eligible voters to obtain their cards ahead of the elections.
Gumus described PVC collection as a critical component of the preparations, stressing that eligible voters must ensure they collect their cards to participate in the forthcoming elections.
The mock accreditation and voting exercise is expected to provide INEC with an opportunity to evaluate its technological upgrades before the 2027 general elections.
