2027: We’ll conduct credible, inclusive elections, INEC assures international community

x INEC ​‌‍‍‍‍⁠⁠‍‌⁠‌‍⁠⁠‍​‌​Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja during a courtesy visit by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Pete Vowles, to INEC headquarters. Amupitan noted that restoring public trust, enhancing operational efficiency and safeguarding the integrity of every ballot remained the central pillars of his administration.

“Your arrival comes at a defining period in our national journey, as Nigeria deepens its democratic processes and advances institutional reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections. “We view your visit today as a continuation of the enduring partnership and shared commitment to democratic integrity that exists between Nigeria and the United Kingdom,” he said.

Acknowledging the United Kingdom’s long-standing support through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and development partners, Amupitan called for expanded strategic collaboration in critical areas as 2027 approaches. He listed priority partnership areas to include election cybersecurity architecture, specialised capacity building for the commission’s personnel and joint initiatives to counter artificial intelligence-driven manipulation, disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).

“The integrity of Nigeria’s democracy matters not only to our citizens but to the peace, stability and economic growth of the entire West African sub-region and the African continent. “We assure you and the international community that INEC remains resolutely independent, impartial and committed to delivering a 2027 general election that meets the highest global standards,” Amupitan said.

Reviewing recent electoral activities, the INEC cited the successful conduct of off-cycle governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, alongside the FCT Area Council polls and 16 state and federal legislative by-elections. He explained that the off-cycle polls served as operational testing grounds, recording major advancements in early logistics deployment and high Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) reliability.

Amupitan said that the elections also witnessed swift uploading of polling unit results on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal as well as priority voting access for persons with disabilities (PWDs), pregnant women and the elderly. He said that with over 70 days to the 2027 general elections, the commission had successfully executed nine out of the 14 key activities outlined in its revised timetable and schedule of activities.

To ensure that every registered voter exercised their franchise, Amupitan said that INEC had launched an intensive permanent voter card (PVC) collection drive, decentralised across all the 774 local government areas down to the ward registration level. He also emphasised measures taken to protect candidate nominations under Section 29 of the Electoral Act 2026 through the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal (ICNP).

He disclosed that the platform successfully processed nominations across 21 registered political parties, encompassing 36 presidential and vice-presidential candidates from 18 parties, 4,860 National Assembly candidates, 936 governorship candidates and 9,692 state assembly candidates. On technical infrastructure, the INEC boss revealed that the commission had secured 57,000 new BVAS devices.

He added that comprehensive zonal physical and operational assessments were ongoing, with the South-South evaluation concluded and the North-Central assessment scheduled to commence on Thursday. In his remarks, the high commissioner, who said that he had been in Nigeria for eight weeks, noted that the courtesy visit was primarily to familiarise himself with INEC’s operations and the preparations for the elections.

Vowles underscored the importance of Nigeria’s democracy to its citizens, the West African sub-region and the international community, describing the forthcoming elections as an important opportunity for Nigeria to demonstrate how a strong democracy could function in a large and diverse country. “The reason I suppose that we wanted a courtesy call is perhaps an obvious one, but just the recognition of how much Nigeria’s democracy matters to Nigeria, to 240 million Nigerians, to the region and to the world.

“I guess as a foreigner in your country, recognising the importance of Nigeria’s democracy globally is such an important thing. “So, I wanted to recognise that, and the opportunity to understand the operations and the preparations for Nigeria’s elections. “I would probably say that in our conversation, we talked about how the forthcoming elections are a really important opportunity for Nigeria to showcase to the world how a strong democracy in a large, diverse country should operate. (NAN)