The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to test its upgraded election technology nationwide on November 28 as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The exercise will allow the commission to test its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic results transmission ahead of the presidential election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday during a dialogue at Chatham House in London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative, Naija News reports.
The discussion was held under the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by his Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan said the mock exercise would take place across all states of the federation.
He explained that the commission would use the exercise to confirm that its accreditation and electronic results transmission systems were working properly before the 2027 polls.
“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 revealed that the commission had introduced new technical measures to stop inaccurate polling unit results and figures showing over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
According to him, a review carried out after the 2023 general elections showed that most of the problems with election results happened at collation centres, rather than polling units.
“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.
Amupitan added that INEC had chosen to improve its existing election technology instead of introducing a completely new system because of the limited time left before the 2027 elections.
On concerns about BVAS failures during the 2023 elections, he said the commission was building climate-controlled storage facilities across the states to protect the machines from extreme temperatures.
He also disclosed that INEC had bought more BVAS machines and reduced the number of registered voters assigned to each device from 1,250 to 850.
Under the new arrangement, polling units with more than 850 registered voters will be provided with additional machines.
On funding, Amupitan said INEC had received a substantial part of its budget for the 2027 elections but was still waiting for the release of the remaining funds.
He expressed confidence that the outstanding amount would be released before the end of November.
He explained that part of the money would be used to recruit and cater for the welfare of ad hoc staff who would work during the elections.
The INEC chairman also appealed to Nigerians to have confidence in his leadership, admitting that the controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election had seriously affected public trust in the commission.
“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 said the commission had learnt from subsequent elections, including the governorship polls in Anambra and Osun, the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, the Ekiti governorship election and 16 legislative by-elections.
According to him, the elections provided INEC with opportunities to identify and correct some of its operational weaknesses.
He noted that the results of the Anambra and Osun governorship elections were announced the day after voting, unlike the delays that affected previous elections in the two states.
“Every election is a lesson. The 2023 general election was a major lesson for Nigeria, and the Anambra election was another,” he said.
Amupitan also addressed allegations questioning his political neutrality, denying that he operated an account on 𝕏, formerly Twitter, linked to a controversial political post.
He said INEC had obtained an independent forensic review of the matter and referred it to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.
The chairman further insisted that his loyalty remained with the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
He explained that his previous involvement in legal cases relating to political disputes was carried out in his professional capacity as a lawyer before he became INEC chairman.
“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act,” he said.
He also urged young Nigerians to take an active part in the electoral process and avoid spreading misinformation as the country prepares for the 2027 elections.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
