2027: INEC gets 4,800 complaints over voters’ register

The Independent National Electoral Commission has received more than 4,800 claims and about 600 objections to its Preliminary Register of Voters, as it intensifies preparations for the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja while receiving the ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission at the commission’s national headquarters.

Amupitan said the figures, recorded as of Thursday, comprised claims submitted at registration areas where the preliminary register was displayed, and objections received through electoral officers and Resident Electoral Commissioners.

He explained that most claims concerned corrections and other minor issues, adding that the online display of the register had also helped identify discrepancies.

“The display of the register online is also confirming some of the complaints we had earlier received,” he said.

The INEC chairman assured Nigerians that the commission would address all valid claims and objections before certifying the Final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.

He said the exercise was particularly important given the size of the register, which currently contains more than 103 million registered voters.

According to him, the commission is determined to eliminate discrepancies and ensure that the final register is accurate ahead of the 2027 elections.

Amupitan also announced plans to conduct a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November to test voter accreditation and results transmission across all states simultaneously.

He said INEC had introduced an additional safeguard requiring election results to be authenticated at polling units before transmission to the commission’s Election Results Viewing portal, IReV.

“The Commission had also introduced a safeguard whereby results are authenticated at the polling unit before they go to IReV,” he said.

The chairman explained that when he assumed office, the commission considered introducing a different technology but decided against it because of time constraints.

He said INEC instead focused on improving the existing system to strengthen the electoral process ahead of the next general elections.

On preparations for the polls, Amupitan said the commission had conducted readiness assessments across several geopolitical zones, including the South-West in Lagos, North-West in Kaduna, South-East in Enugu and North-East in Gombe.

He added that the commission would visit the North-Central zone the following week.

According to him, the assessments had already prompted adjustments to deployment plans, particularly in areas with difficult terrain and security challenges.

“During our meeting earlier this week, we realised that there are some areas that we needed higher deployments than we had planned because of the terrain and some of the security issues that are prevalent,” he said.

The INEC chairman, who said he was sworn in on October 23, 2025, also highlighted the commission’s electoral experience during his first year in office.

He said INEC had conducted four major off-cycle elections and 16 by-elections during the period.

Amupitan cited the Anambra State governorship election, held two weeks after he assumed office, as an example of improved electoral administration.

He said the result was concluded and announced within one day, compared with approximately five days in 2022.

According to him, lessons from the Anambra election were subsequently applied during the Federal Capital Territory election in February, the Ekiti State governorship election in June and the Osun State governorship election on August 8, 2026.

“For us, every election provides its own lesson,” he said.

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On staff welfare, Amupitan disclosed that the commission had secured approval for the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure, known as CEMBSS.

He said improved welfare for electoral officials would help reduce the risk of political interference.

“If our staff are well taken care of, then the temptation from the political group will be curtailed,” he said.

The chairman also expressed optimism about the commission’s security arrangements, citing the experience in Osun State, where he said threats and violence recorded before the election subsided following adjustments to security measures and closer monitoring of volatile areas.

“Post-election violence has drastically reduced,” he said.

He added that INEC was refining arrangements for internally displaced persons to ensure their participation in the electoral process.

The commission, he said, was committed to “ensuring inclusivity, that no one is completely excluded.”

Amupitan called for stronger cooperation with international partners, particularly in addressing electoral disinformation, improving logistics and strengthening voter education.

He said INEC sought “a hand-in-hand relationship with the international community, providing peer learning and technical exchange regarding best practices in combating sophisticated electoral disinformation, managing logistics in complex terrains, and strengthening inclusive voters’ education.”

He also welcomed the deployment of ECOWAS long-term and short-term election observers, describing their independent assessments as important to the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process.

The chairman assured the regional body that the commission would remain impartial in the discharge of its responsibilities.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission under my watch has no candidate and no political party,” he said.

He added that Nigeria and other African countries needed to demonstrate their capacity to conduct credible elections and manage their democratic affairs.

“We need to show clearly that we have come of age, Africa has come of age, and we are able to conduct our own affairs,” he said.

On his part, the leader of the ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission and former Vice-President of Sierra Leone, Victor Bockarie Foh, said the mission was deployed under regional instruments governing democracy, good governance and conflict prevention.

He said its mandate included assessing Nigeria’s preparedness for the 2027 general elections and engaging political parties, government officials, the electoral management body, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.

The mission would also gather legal documents governing the electoral process and assess the conditions under which the elections would be conducted.

Foh said the deployment was based on the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, Article 53C of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework and the decision of the regional bloc’s heads of state to send pre-election fact-finding missions to member countries holding elections.

The mission’s co-head, Dr Abbas Chernor Bundu, a former Executive Secretary of ECOWAS and former Speaker of Sierra Leone’s Parliament, said the visit was intended to identify areas where the regional body could support INEC and other electoral stakeholders.

He said the mission sought to “gauge the state of preparedness of all the stakeholders and to see where the ECOWAS Commission can be of support to INEC and all stakeholders in the process.”

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Frances Piagie Alghali, was also present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, INEC has disclosed that 66 petitions arising from the publication of the final lists of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections were successful.

In a separate development, the commission said its Staff Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society was holding its 2026 Presidents’ Annual General Meeting in Jos, Plateau State, to discuss strategies for strengthening the society and improving members’ welfare.