INEC Sets November 28 for Nationwide Mock Accreditation

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

The exercise will take place across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with particular attention to voter accreditation and electronic transmission of election results.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced the exercise on Thursday in London during a high-level dialogue at Chatham House, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI).

The discussion, themed “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot,” provided an opportunity for the chairman to outline the Commission’s preparations and address concerns about its credibility following the 2023 general election.

Amupitan said the mock exercise would simulate aspects of the presidential election and establish whether the Commission’s technological improvements could deliver reliable accreditation and result transmission.

“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation 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 chairman explained that INEC had strengthened its existing electoral infrastructure rather than introduce an entirely new technology for the 2027 polls.

He said the decision reflected the limited time available before the elections and the need to address weaknesses identified during previous exercises.

Amupitan identified insecurity, logistics and result management as the Commission’s major priorities, noting that its review of the 2023 elections exposed serious problems at collation centres.

According to him, INEC has introduced technical validation measures to prevent inaccurate results and figures indicating over-voting from reaching its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He said the safeguards would ensure that results must pass accuracy checks before officials can upload them.

“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 INEC chairman also announced measures to prevent a recurrence of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctions recorded during the 2023 elections.

He attributed some of the earlier failures to extreme heat and poor storage conditions, disclosing that the Commission was constructing climate-controlled storage facilities across the states.

INEC has also procured additional BVAS devices and reduced the maximum number of voters assigned to each machine from 1,250 to 850.

Polling units with more than 850 registered voters will receive multiple devices to ease pressure on the equipment and minimise accreditation delays.

Amupitan said the improvements formed part of efforts to restore public confidence in the Commission ahead of the 2027 elections.

He acknowledged that controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election had significantly damaged INEC’s reputation.

“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 argued that subsequent off-cycle elections had demonstrated improvements in the Commission’s operations.

He cited the governorship elections in Anambra, Osun and Ekiti, the FCT Area Council elections and 16 legislative by-elections as evidence of progress.

He particularly highlighted the recent Anambra and Osun governorship elections, where INEC declared results the day after voting, unlike previous exercises that experienced prolonged delays.

“Every election is a lesson. The 2023 general election was a major lesson for Nigeria, and the Anambra election was another,” he said.

On funding, Amupitan confirmed that INEC had received a substantial portion of its 2027 election budget but was awaiting the outstanding balance.

He said the remaining funds would support preparations, including the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc election personnel. The Commission, he added, had received assurances that the money would arrive before the end of November.

The chairman also dismissed allegations questioning his political neutrality following claims on social media linking his telephone number to a controversial account on X, formerly Twitter.

He denied operating an account on the platform and said an independent forensic assessment had been obtained. He also referred the matter to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.

Amupitan maintained that his previous involvement in political cases as a legal practitioner would not compromise his impartiality.

“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act,” he said.

He urged Nigerians, particularly young people, to participate actively in the democratic process and guard against misinformation.

The presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.