Daud Olatunji
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared that artificial intelligence will not be allowed to determine the outcome of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, insisting that the power to elect political leaders rests exclusively with the electorate.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the 2026 AI and Democracy Forum, organised by Yiaga Africa in partnership with INEC, Microsoft, TikTok, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Dataphyte and other development partners.
Amupitan said although artificial intelligence would increasingly influence election administration, information dissemination and political engagement, the technology must not replace the will of voters or undermine democratic institutions.
“Will algorithms decide the 2027 votes?” the INEC chairman asked rhetorically.
Answering the question, he declared, “No, algorithms will not and must never decide the 2027 vote. The 2027 votes must be decided by the sovereign people of Nigeria.”
The two-day forum, themed ‘Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,’ brought together representatives of electoral commissions from Senegal, Kenya, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo, alongside security agencies, civil society organisations, media professionals, technology companies and students.
Amupitan said the gathering was designed to move discussions about artificial intelligence beyond identifying potential dangers to developing practical measures to protect Nigeria’s electoral process.
He noted that AI was already transforming the information environment in which voters made political choices, while creating new opportunities and challenges for electoral administrators.
“AI will undeniably shape the information environment in which citizens form their choices, influence the speed and security of electoral logistics, and alter the tactics of both democratic actors and anti-democratic actors,” he said.
The INEC chairman urged stakeholders to ensure that the technology strengthened democratic institutions rather than created new avenues for electoral manipulation.
“Our task, therefore, at this forum and within the commission, is to ensure that AI remains a servant of democracy, not its master,” he added.
Amupitan said the scale and complexity of Nigeria’s elections made the responsible deployment of technology increasingly necessary.
He disclosed that INEC was preparing to conduct elections involving more than 100 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the exercise would require the movement of personnel and sensitive election materials across 774 local government areas, including remote communities, riverine settlements and locations affected by insecurity.
To illustrate the logistical challenges, the INEC chairman cited Kabi Ward in Kuje Area Council of the FCT, where reaching some locations could take about three hours, with limited network coverage.
According to him, artificial intelligence could help address such difficulties through predictive modelling, geospatial analysis and dynamic routing.
He explained that machine-learning systems could analyse traffic patterns, weather forecasts, road conditions and security incidents to identify suitable routes for transporting election materials.
“Machine learning algorithms can analyse historical traffic patterns, weather forecasts, road conditions and security incidents to generate optimal deployment routes for logistic vehicles across the terrains,” he said.
Amupitan added that AI-powered systems could also help the commission forecast demand for non-sensitive materials, monitor warehouse inventories and identify supply-chain disruptions before they affected election-day operations.
