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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Thursday 23 July 2026 that it has already overcome the technical challenges that hampered the electronic transmission of results in the 2023 general elections, ensuring a free and fair poll in 2027.
It also announced plans to conduct a mock exercise on electronic transmission of election results well before the 2027 general elections.
The President of INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during a policy roundtable on electronic transmission of results, organized by Yiaga Africa in Abuja.
Represented by INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, the INEC boss said the body had learned some lessons from the shortcomings that characterized the 2023 polls.
He said: “Unfortunately, this has become very important in light of the technical problem encountered in uploading the presidential election results to IReV. Let me assure you that we at INEC have learned the lessons and improved our operations,”
Amupitan said: “We want to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians in general, and voters in particular, that INEC will ensure that the 2027 general elections will be free, fair, credible, inclusive and transparent. Every valid vote will count. Voters will decide who governs them.”
Responding to reporters’ questions about the problems in 2023, among other concerns, Zure said: “Yes, we are confident that we will be able to handle these problems. We have conducted several elections, by-elections and governorship elections after the incidents that we had in 2023, and everyone agrees that there are notable improvements in the elections that have been held.
“We just conducted the Anambra governorship elections, the FCT elections. So this is clear evidence that we have moved ahead of where we were on this issue.”
Referring to Diego Maradona’s controversial “Hand of God” goal at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, he declared that the most advanced technologies could not eliminate all controversy.
“There are three important things: honesty, truth and sincerity. Once these things are there, technology will no longer be a problem. Let us harness these values as a nation to ensure that everything we do is sincere, truthful and honest,” he added.
Meanwhile, a university professor, Sylvester Akhaine, and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), have hinted that responsible media, a transparent electoral commission and an informed electorate are key to the success of the 2027 general elections.
They spoke at the fourth Lateef Jakande memorial lecture, organized by the NGE in Ikeja, Lagos.
The conference, themed “The Media, INEC, Voters and the Path to Credible Elections”, was organized in honor of the late veteran journalist and former NGE Chairman, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, who, at the time, was the governor of Lagos State.
In his opening speech, Akhaine, a professor of Political Science at the Lagos State University (LASU), described the role of the media, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and voters as critical to the success of the elections.
He said: “For credible elections to take place in our country, the media, the INEC and the voters have a role to play.”
The speaker, who described the theme of the conference as timely, said Nigeria’s democratic experience is facing challenges related to statehood and weakening of sovereignty, with institutional balance compromised and non-state actors exerting influence in some areas.
The university teacher noted that such challenges have, in a sense, contributed to insecurity and greater reliance on community-based security arrangements alongside conventional security agencies.
While condemning Nigeria’s political culture, the university lecturer lamented that monetized politics, poor leadership recruitment and a trust deficit have combined to discourage and weaken active citizen participation in governance.
Going back in time on electoral management, Akhaine recalled the evolution of Nigeria’s electoral bodies from the Electoral Commission of Nigeria (ECN) established in 1959 to the current Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), established in 1998 before the nation’s return to democracy.
The speaker highlighted that despite the expansion of election management bodies globally, many of these bodies continue to struggle with one or the other challenge in Africa, especially that relating to their independence.
Akhaine, who described voters as the transmission belt of consensus in a democracy, argued that citizens remain at the center of any electoral process.
He noted that elections could only be said to be personified by integrity if practices such as vote rigging, vote buying, gerrymandering and intimidation were absent.
The university professor alluded to some international initiatives such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the ECOWAS Protocol and the SADC Guidelines, which, according to him, are at the forefront in promoting free, fair and transparent elections.
Akhaine, who told the gathering that the general elections conducted since 1999 had not been entirely free and fair, recalled that the 1964/1965 elections, the 1979 “two-thirds” dispute, the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and the 2007 elections, which according to the Commonwealth Observer Group did not meet acceptable standards, justified his position.
Regarding the media, he noted that disinformation, fake news and post-truth politics driven by digital platforms, bots and online manipulation are some of the emerging challenges facing the media.
Need for partnership
While urging the trio of the media, INEC and voters to work together and strengthen national democracy, he specifically called on the media to, as a matter of necessity, uphold the provisions of sections 22 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which empower the press to hold the government accountable and ensure freedom of expression.
He stressed the need for the electorate to leverage technological reforms and financial autonomy if they are to improve the nation’s electoral credibility.
Akhaine has added his voice to those calling for the Uwais Electoral Reform Panel, including the proposal to remove the appointment of INEC officials from the exclusive control of the executive arm.
According to him, “if these crucial stakeholders played their roles, I am convinced that Nigeria’s democratic train would be set on the right path.”
…NGE
Earlier in his welcome address, NGE President Anaba said the annual conference, which debuted in 2023, was designed to preserve the legacy of Jakande, whose career as a journalist, administrator and public servant represented service, integrity and good governance.
He said the country’s approach to another election cycle and the need to strengthen democratic institutions influenced the choice of theme.
Anaba, who urged the media to remain professional, accurate and fair in its election coverage, called on INEC to continue to discharge its responsibilities with transparency, competence and impartiality.
…Yiaga reveals the political brief
Presenting a policy paper titled “Securing the Vote: Electronic Transmission and Collection of Election Results”, Yiaga Africa identified legal and operational gaps in the Electoral Law 2026, as well as INEC regulations and guidelines on the electronic transmission of election results.
Yiaga Executive Director Samson Itodo pointed out that polling unit results are only uploaded to the IReV portal after backend validation rather than immediately after being entered into polling units, while district and local government collation results are not published on the portal.
This gap, the body said, denies voters real-time visibility into critical stages of the results transmission process and fuels suspicions of manipulation.
To this end, he urged INEC to publish a clear protocol for the reporting of polling unit results, upload district and local government collation results to IReV, clarify the legally authoritative version of the EC8A form, review paragraph 40 of its regulations and guidelines, develop a comprehensive results management manual, and conduct nationwide mock exercises ahead of the 2027 general elections.
