The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November 2026 as part of preparations for Nigeria’s 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Friday when he received a delegation from the Canadian High Commission led by Canada’s Chargé d’Affaires to Nigeria, David Sproule, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The exercise will test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other electoral equipment while allowing the commission to identify and resolve potential operational challenges ahead of the elections.
Amupitan said the mock accreditation is one of five strategic priorities adopted by INEC for the 2027 polls. The others are consolidating technological gains, deepening electoral inclusion, strengthening institutional capacity and technical support, and countering misinformation while protecting electoral integrity.
He described the August 15 Osun State governorship election as an important benchmark for the commission’s preparations, noting that 3,556 of the state’s 3,763 polling units, representing 94.5 per cent, opened for accreditation and voting by 8:30 a.m.
According to the INEC chairman, the Osun election also recorded strong BVAS performance, smooth result uploads to the IReV portal and proactive crisis management.
INEC will require approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel to conduct the 2027 elections across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.
The commission has also established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence (AI) unit to explore responsible applications of AI in areas including data management, voter registration and results transmission. The unit will also work on safeguards against the misuse of AI.
Amupitan said INEC would participate in the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections in Ottawa, Canada, from September 9 to 11, 2026. The conference will examine responsible AI applications in elections and emerging threats such as deepfakes and disinformation.
He also reaffirmed INEC’s independence and neutrality, saying the commission remained committed to democratic integrity.
The Canadian delegation reaffirmed Canada’s support for Nigeria’s democratic and electoral processes, particularly voter participation, women’s inclusion, public awareness, technical assistance and election observation.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State House of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
