INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan says AI will not decide Nigeria’s 2027 elections as he warns of deepfakes, digital disinformation and cyberattacks
2027 Elections: INEC to Deploy AI Monitoring as Amupitan Warns of Deepfakes, Disinformation
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has warned against the manipulation of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections through artificial intelligence (AI), insisting that technology must not override the will of voters.
Amupitan said algorithms would not determine the outcome of the elections, stressing that the power to choose the country’s leaders rests exclusively with Nigerians.
He spoke at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, organised by INEC in partnership with Yiaga Africa, under the theme, “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” he said.
“The choice of who leads Nigeria belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people. Algorithms may predict patterns; they may optimise routes, and they may even suggest preferences. But they do not have a conscience, they do not have a country, and they do not have a vote.”
The INEC chairman acknowledged that AI would significantly influence the electoral process, particularly the spread of political information, election logistics and the tactics employed by those seeking to protect or undermine democratic participation.
“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,” he said.
Amupitan described the 2027 general elections as one of the most complex administrative exercises in the world, noting that the process would involve more than 103 million registered voters, 176,846 polling units and 774 local government areas.
He disclosed that INEC had completed 10 of the 14 major operational milestones stipulated by the Electoral Act 2026, while procuring additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System units and digitising candidate nominations through its Candidates Nomination Portal.
According to him, the portal is processing more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties, while the commission has also introduced online voter registration.
Amupitan said AI could improve electoral administration through predictive logistics, route optimisation, biometric database management, automated result auditing, multilingual voter engagement and cybersecurity.
However, he maintained that technology would not replace human oversight and accountability in critical electoral processes.
“No critical electoral decision, result collation, voter accreditation, or candidate qualification will ever be fully automated or delegated to an autonomous system,” he said.
“Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain,” he added.
The commission’s chairman identified deepfakes, synthetic media, targeted political advertising, algorithmic bias and automated cyberattacks as emerging threats that could undermine the credibility of the elections.
He warned that the manipulation of voters through false or misleading digital content could be as damaging as direct attacks on electoral infrastructure.
“The greatest threat we face is not the hacking of a ballot box, but the hacking of the voter’s mind,” he said.
Amupitan cautioned that voters’ inability to distinguish authentic information from fabricated content could compromise their ability to make informed electoral choices.
To address the risks, he disclosed that INEC had established a specialised AI Unit within its Information and Communication Technology Directorate to monitor digital threats and detect deepfakes and information manipulation.
He also urged political parties to adopt an ethical code of conduct governing their use of AI during election campaigns.
The INEC chairman called on media organisations, civil society groups, security agencies and the judiciary to strengthen their capacity to identify and respond to digital disinformation ahead of the elections.
As part of the proposed response, he advocated the establishment of an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition comprising INEC, media organisations, fact-checkers, civil society groups and telecommunications operators.
The proposed coalition would provide early warnings about AI-generated falsehoods and strengthen cooperation among institutions responsible for protecting the integrity of electoral information.
Amupitan said the ultimate test of the electoral process would be whether the outcome reflected the genuine choices of Nigerians rather than technological manipulation.
“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 #2027Elections #ArtificialIntelligence #ElectionSecurity #NigeriaPolitics
