2027: INEC schedules mock accreditation, to launch new safeguards

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise for 28 November to test its upgraded electoral technology ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan announced the date on Thursday during a dialogue organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) at Chatham House in London.

Mr Amupitan said the exercise would enable the commission to test its accreditation system and electronic transmission of election results ahead of the January and February 2027 elections.

He said the commission had introduced technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate results and figures that indicate over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), adding that the mock exercise would test the improvements ahead of the elections.

“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,” he said.

“In 2023, there were instances of inaccurate results or results with over-voting being uploaded onto IReV. 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.”

The exercise is expected to test improvements to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the commission’s result management infrastructure, following concerns about the technology’s performance during the 2023 general elections.

Mr Amupitan said the commission had upgraded its existing electoral technology rather than introduce an entirely new system, citing the limited time available before the 2027 elections.

He said INEC had also addressed some of the technical problems that affected BVAS during the 2023 elections, including device malfunctions linked to extreme heat and storage conditions.

According to him, the commission is constructing climate-controlled storage facilities across the states and has procured additional BVAS devices.

He added that INEC had reduced the maximum number of registered voters assigned to a BVAS device from 1,250 to 850. Polling Units (PU) with more than 850 registered voters would be provided with additional devices.

During the last general elections, controversy over the electronic transmission of results on the Result Viewing Portal (IReV) generated widespread criticism of the commission. It contributed to a loss of public confidence in the electoral process.

Mr Amupitan acknowledged the trust deficit. He said the commission had yet to fully recover from the damage caused by the 2023 election.

He said INEC’s review of the election identified collation centres, rather than polling units, as the main source of problems with result management.

The chairman said the commission had consequently introduced technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate results and figures indicating over-voting from being uploaded to IReV.

“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.

“The moment a result appears on IReV, citizens can trust what they see.”

He said the commission hoped the safeguards would eliminate discrepancies between polling unit results and figures presented at collation centres.

Mr Amupitan also identified insecurity, logistics, and result management as the commission’s three major priorities ahead of the 2027 elections.

INEC has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for 16 January 2027, while governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections will be held on 6 February 2027.