2027: INEC vows to deliver election that reflects Nigerians’ will

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the outcome of the 2027 general election will reflect the sovereign will of Nigerian voters.

The assurance was given on Tuesday by the Acting Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, when she received a delegation from the African Union (AU) led by former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, His Excellency Demeke Mekonnen, who is Head of the AU Pre-Election Assessment Mission.

Gumus, who represented the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Ojo Amupitan, SAN, said the visit is part of the AU’s Pre-Election and Needs Assessment Mission to Nigeria scheduled for September 13 to 19, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking during the engagement, Mekonnen said the mission was aimed at assessing Nigeria’s electoral preparations, identifying gaps and recommending measures to support a successful process.

He listed areas of interest to include voter registration, deployment of electoral technology, logistics, funding, inclusion, transparency, electoral disputes, security and result management.

According to him, the pre-election phase is critical to the entire electoral process.

“We want to facilitate support and identify gaps, and for possible remedies and corrections for the successful election process,” Mekonnen said.

In her response, Gumus said Nigeria and the African Union share a commitment to democratic standards, institutional integrity and credible electoral governance.

She said INEC is preparing for the 2027 elections on an unprecedented scale, with the voter population approaching 100 million, 176,846 polling units and over 1.4 million personnel to be deployed.

Gumus noted that recent off-cycle elections have enabled the Commission to test reforms under the new electoral legal framework.

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She highlighted the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, (BVAS), the result viewing portal, (IReV), and inter-agency security coordination as part of efforts to strengthen election administration.

She also disclosed that INEC is collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), through the Continuous Voter Registration portal to audit, verify and clean the voter register.

Gumus, however, acknowledged that Nigeria’s size and complexity continue to pose technological, logistical and political challenges.

“Electoral integrity is a multi-sectoral endeavour, and international technical support remains vital to bridging operational gaps,” she said.

She identified areas where AU support would be valuable, including digital training for ad-hoc staff, e-learning tools, ICT simulations, election monitoring systems, disinformation countermeasures, AI-driven deepfake detection and strategic communication.

She also sought support for strengthening inclusion and gender mainstreaming for persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons, women and other underrepresented groups.

Gumus assured the delegation of INEC’s full transparency and cooperation during its engagements with political parties, civil society organisations, security agencies, media executives and development partners.

She reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to independence, neutrality and professionalism, stressing that every administrative decision will be guided by law and that the 2027 election will reflect the sovereign will of Nigerians.