The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said that Nigerian voters, rather than artificial intelligence (AI) systems, will determine the outcome of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan made this known on Wednesday at the 2026 Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum in Abuja, organised by INEC and Yiaga Africa, with the theme, “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
He said although AI could influence election administration and the information available to voters, its use must not undermine human judgment or democratic institutions.
“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote. The choice of who leads Nigeria belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people,” he said.
The INEC chairman noted that AI could predict trends and make recommendations but could not replace the democratic right of citizens to choose their leaders.
He, however, acknowledged that the technology would significantly influence the electoral process, particularly information dissemination, election logistics and attempts to manipulate public opinion.
“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,” Amupitan said.
He disclosed that the 2027 general elections would involve more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units in 774 local government areas.
According to him, INEC has completed 10 of the 14 major operational milestones outlined under the Electoral Act 2026.
He added that the commission had acquired additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, digitised candidate nominations through its INEC Candidates Nomination Portal and processed more than 15,000 nominations involving 22 political parties.
Amupitan also identified online voter registration as part of the commission’s efforts to improve electoral administration.
On the potential benefits of AI, he said the technology could support election logistics, improve route planning, assist in auditing results, enhance biometric database management, facilitate multilingual voter engagement and strengthen cybersecurity.
However, he insisted that critical electoral responsibilities would remain under human supervision.
“No critical electoral decision, result collation, voter accreditation, or candidate qualification will ever be fully automated or delegated to an autonomous system,” he stated.
“Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain,” he added.
The INEC chairman warned that generative AI, deepfakes, fabricated audio and videos, targeted political advertising, algorithmic bias and automated cyberattacks posed potential threats to the credibility of the 2027 elections.
He expressed concern that AI-generated misinformation could deceive voters and weaken public confidence in authentic electoral information.
“The greatest threat we face is not the hacking of a ballot box, but the hacking of the voter’s mind,” Amupitan said.
“If a voter cannot distinguish between truth and a synthetic lie, the foundation of informed consent crumbles,” he added.
He disclosed that INEC had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its Information and Communications Technology Directorate to monitor digital threats and detect attempts to manipulate electoral information.
The unit, he said, had access to digital monitoring tools, deepfake detection software and data analytics expertise.
Amupitan called on political parties to adopt an ethical code of conduct for AI use, while urging civil society organisations to monitor algorithmic transparency and digital campaign spending.
He also urged security agencies and judicial officers to strengthen their capacity for cybercrime investigations and digital forensics.
The INEC chairman called on media organisations to establish digital forensic desks to verify user-generated content before publishing or broadcasting it.
He further proposed an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition involving INEC, civil society groups, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigeria Fact-Checking Coalition, media organisations and telecommunications operators.
According to him, the proposed coalition would serve as an early-warning network to identify and counter AI-generated falsehoods capable of undermining the electoral process.
Amupitan maintained that the outcome of the elections would ultimately reflect the choices of Nigerians across different communities and professions.
He cited market women, farmers, teachers, technology entrepreneurs, fishermen and students as among the citizens whose votes would shape the country’s political future.
“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.
“INEC’s job is to ensure that the voice of the people is heard clearly, above the noise of the machines.”
