“Algorithms Will Not, And Must Never, Decide 2027 Vote,” – INEC Chairman

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has declared that artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms will not determine the outcome of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, insisting that the people’s will must remain supreme.

Amupitan stated this at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, organised by INEC and Yiaga Africa, with the theme, “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” he said, adding “The choice of who leads Nigeria belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people. Algorithms may predict patterns; they may optimise routes, and they may even suggest preferences. But they do not have a conscience, they do not have a country, and they do not have a vote.”

He acknowledged that AI would significantly influence the electoral environment, from the spread of political information to election logistics and the tactics employed by both democratic actors and those seeking to undermine the process.

“While algorithms will not decide the vote, 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 disruptors,” he further revealed.

The INEC chairman described the 2027 elections as one of the most complex administrative exercises in the world, involving more than 103 million registered voters, 176,846 polling units and 774 local government areas.

He said the commission had completed 10 of the 14 major operational milestones stipulated by the Electoral Act 2026, procured additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) units and digitised candidate nominations through the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal.

According to him, the portal is processing more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties, while online voter registration has also been introduced.

Amupitan said AI could improve election administration through predictive logistics, route optimisation, biometric database management, automated result auditing, multilingual voter engagement and cybersecurity.

However, he stressed that technology would not replace human accountability in critical electoral processes.

“No critical electoral decision, result collation, voter accreditation, or candidate qualification will ever be fully automated or delegated to an autonomous system,” he said.

Explaining that, “Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain.”

He identified deepfakes, synthetic media, targeted political advertising, algorithmic bias and automated cyberattacks as emerging threats to electoral integrity.

“The greatest threat we face is not the hacking of a ballot box, but the hacking of the voter’s mind,” he warned, adding that voters’ inability to distinguish truth from fabricated content could undermine informed electoral choices.

Amupitan disclosed that INEC had established a specialised AI Unit within its Information and Communication Technology Directorate to monitor digital threats and detect deepfakes and information manipulation.

He urged political parties to adopt an ethical code of conduct for AI use, while calling on the media, civil society organisations, security agencies and the judiciary to strengthen their capacity to detect and respond to digital disinformation.

He also proposed an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition involving INEC, media organisations, fact-checkers, civil society groups and telecommunications operators to provide early warnings against AI-generated falsehoods.

Amupitan said the outcome of the elections must ultimately reflect the choices of ordinary Nigerians, not technological manipulation.

“On election day in 2027, it will be the thumbprint of the Nigerian citizen, guided by their own will and their own hopes, that decides our future,” he said.