The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians that it is intensifying preparations for the 2027 general elections, with emphasis on transparency, technology, public trust, and collaboration with the media and civil society. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja at a strategic workshop organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in collaboration with INEC. The workshop, themed “Strengthening Democracy Through Partnership Among Editors, Civil Society and Electoral Institutions,” comes 101 days before the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.
Amupitan said the timing of the engagement was deliberate, stressing that credible elections could not be achieved by INEC alone. “The ultimate arbiter of electoral integrity is public trust,” he said, adding that such trust required “an active, transparent, and unshakeable partnership between the electoral umpire, civil society, and the free press.” The chairman said INEC had completed eight of the 14 major activities contained in its revised timetable for the 2027 elections and was advancing towards the ninth milestone.
Amupitan announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) would commence on Friday, October 9, 2026, urging the media to educate voters on collection locations. According to him, the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrations, while the National Register of Voters now contains more than 103 million voters following the completion of the Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup.
Amupitan said the Commission had also introduced online voter registration and printable PVC technology to reduce barriers associated with registration and collection of voter cards. On technology, the INEC chairman disclosed that 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices had been acquired, while existing devices had undergone software hardening, battery optimisation, and biometric calibration.
He said the enhanced eEC8A system would enable polling-unit results to be digitised, authenticated, and uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV). He added that INEC was integrating artificial intelligence tools for anomaly detection and cybersecurity. “We are committed to ensuring that every valid vote counts and is seen to count,” Amupitan said.
Amupitan warned political parties and candidates against vote-buying, saying INEC was working with the Federal Ministry of Justice, EFCC, ICPC, and NFIU to monitor illegal campaign spending. He also warned against political violence, intimidation, and hate speech, saying the Commission would work through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to track incidents and dangerous campaign rhetoric.
NGE President, Mr Eze Anaba, said the workshop was critical to strengthening the relationship between the electoral body and the media. Anaba expressed concern about the growing reliance on the courts to resolve electoral disputes, saying: “Hopefully, with this next round of elections, citizens’ votes will speak.”
Key points
- INEC Chairman emphasizes the importance of public trust in the electoral process.
- The Commission has completed eight of the 14 major activities contained in its revised timetable for the 2027 elections.
- Nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) will commence on October 9, 2026.
