ABUJA — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is considering conducting a mock presidential election ahead of the 2027 general elections to test its electoral technology and procedures under conditions similar to an actual election day.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking at the 13th Annual International Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN).

Amupitan’s keynote address, delivered by National Commissioner Sani Adam, SAN, focused on the growing intersection between electoral technology, communication and the credibility of elections.

The INEC chairman said the proposed mock election would provide an opportunity to test voter accreditation, result transmission and result viewing systems before the 2027 elections.

He stressed that the credibility of an electoral process does not depend solely on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and result sheets, but also on how electoral information is communicated, understood and trusted by citizens.

Amupitan called for closer integration of electoral technology and public communication, warning that the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) was creating new challenges for electoral integrity.

According to him, generative AI has made it cheaper and easier to produce convincing fake videos, audio recordings and images capable of misleading large numbers of voters.

He cited instances of manipulated political content circulated during recent elections in West and East Africa, including doctored materials associated with Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.

The INEC chairman warned that false or manipulated content could spread rapidly across social media platforms before fact-checkers have an opportunity to establish the truth.

He also raised concerns about algorithmic micro-targeting, which he said could enable different and sometimes contradictory political messages to be delivered to specific groups of voters without a shared factual basis.

“The challenge before us is therefore not merely technological. It is communicative,” he said.

On preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan said INEC had proposed a substantial budget containing significant allocations for election technology and operations.

He said the proposal included funding for new voter accreditation devices to replace equipment lost or damaged during the previous electoral cycle.

However, he disclosed that the commission was still awaiting the full release of the funds, although its ICT team had commenced discussions with manufacturers concerning the procurement process.

He added that preparations for a technology audit and the proposed mock election were continuing alongside the budget process.

The INEC chairman said the deployment of BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) was designed to address longstanding concerns about electoral transparency by enabling citizens to view polling-unit results before they are taken to collation centres.

He acknowledged, however, that the 2023 general elections demonstrated how electoral technology could become a source of public suspicion when systems failed or did not perform as expected.

According to him, electoral legitimacy can only be sustained when technological systems are reliable, properly understood by citizens and when their limitations are openly communicated.

Amupitan disclosed that INEC was conducting a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology infrastructure, covering areas including system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster-recovery arrangements.

He outlined a five-point strategy for strengthening the commission’s response to emerging information challenges.

The strategy includes integrating technology and communication planning; establishing a rapid-response mechanism capable of addressing false information within the same news cycle; proactively communicating known vulnerabilities and safeguards; strengthening partnerships with media scholars, fact-checkers and technology platforms; and investing continuously in public media literacy.

Amupitan also invited ACSPN and other communication scholars to establish structured partnerships with INEC in areas such as media literacy research, synthetic-content detection and training for journalists and civic educators.

He noted that the electorate for the 2027 elections would be younger and more dependent on mobile technology than previous generations, with smartphones expected to be a major channel through which voters receive election-related information.

The INEC chairman cautioned, however, against simply copying technological solutions adopted by other countries, stressing that electoral technology must be adapted to Nigeria’s realities, including uneven internet access, linguistic diversity and varying levels of public trust in institutions.

The conference, held at the National Open University Conference Centre in Abuja, had as its theme: “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruption and the New Dynamics of Electoral Communication.”