2027: INEC fixes November 28 for mock accreditation, voting

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan. Photo: INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed November 28, 2026, for a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections to test upgrades to its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and electronic results transmission.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday during a dialogue at Chatham House in London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative, with the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”

According to a press statement issued in Abuja and signed by Adedayo Oketola, the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC chairman, Amupitan said the exercise would simulate the presidential election and enable the commission to assess the effectiveness of its accreditation and electronic transmission systems before the polls.

“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise 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 INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission had introduced technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate polling unit results and figures reflecting over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal.

He said a post-2023 audit conducted by the commission identified collation centres, rather than polling units, as the major source of election result management problems.

“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.

“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,” he said.

According to him, the commission decided to upgrade its existing electoral technology rather than introduce an entirely new system, considering the limited time before the 2027 elections.

On concerns over the malfunctioning of BVAS during the 2023 general elections, Amupitan said INEC was constructing climate-controlled storage facilities across the states to protect the devices from extreme temperatures.

He added that the commission had procured additional BVAS machines and reduced the maximum number of registered voters assigned to each device from 1,250 to 850.

Under the revised arrangement, polling units with more than 850 registered voters would be provided with multiple devices.

On election funding, the INEC chairman said the commission had received a substantial portion of its 2027 election budget but was awaiting the release of the outstanding funds.

Related News

• 2027: INEC urges commercial motorcyclists riders to shun violence, thuggery
• 2027: INEC begins distribution of non-sensitive election materials
• 2027: Wike-led PDP, NRM seek more political roles for women

He expressed optimism that the balance would be released before the end of November, noting that part of the outstanding allocation was intended for the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc election personnel.

Amupitan also urged Nigerians to trust his leadership, acknowledging that the controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election had significantly damaged public confidence in the electoral commission.

“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 cited the recent governorship elections in Anambra and Osun, the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, the Ekiti governorship poll and 16 legislative by-elections as opportunities through which the commission had identified and addressed operational weaknesses.

He said the results of the Anambra and Osun governorship elections were declared the day after voting, compared with the prolonged process that characterised previous elections in the states.

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

Addressing allegations questioning his political neutrality, the INEC chairman denied operating an account on X, formerly Twitter, linked to a controversial political post.

He said an independent forensic review had been obtained and the matter referred to the Department of State Services and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.

Amupitan also reaffirmed his commitment to the Constitution and the Electoral Act, saying his previous legal representation in political disputes was undertaken in his professional capacity before his appointment.

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

He urged young Nigerians to participate actively in the electoral process and guard against misinformation ahead of the 2027 elections.

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