2027: Algorithms Won’t Decide Nigeria’s Leaders, Amupitan Vows

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured Nigerians that artificial intelligence will not determine the outcome of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the power to elect leaders rests solely with voters.

Amupitan stated this on Wednesday at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, themed “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

He warned that while artificial intelligence could influence election administration and the information available to voters, its use must remain subject to human judgment and democratic institutions.

“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote. The choice of who leads Nigeria belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people,” he said.

“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, however, acknowledged that AI would significantly shape the electoral environment by influencing information dissemination, election logistics and efforts to manipulate the process.

He said the 2027 general elections would be the largest democratic exercise on the African continent, involving more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units in 774 local government areas.

The polls will feature contests for the presidency, National Assembly, governorships and state Houses of Assembly.

Amupitan disclosed that INEC had completed 10 of the 14 major operational milestones outlined under the Electoral Act 2026.

He added that the commission had procured additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, digitised candidate nominations through its INEC Candidates Nomination Portal and processed more than 15,000 nominations from 22 political parties.

The commission has also introduced online voter registration as part of efforts to improve electoral administration.

On the benefits of artificial intelligence, Amupitan said the technology could enhance logistics and route planning, assist in auditing election results, improve biometric database management, facilitate multilingual voter engagement and strengthen cybersecurity.

He stressed, however, that critical electoral decisions would not be left entirely to automated systems.

“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.

Amupitan identified generative AI, deepfakes, synthetic media, targeted political advertising, algorithmic bias and automated cyberattacks as potential threats to the credibility of the 2027 elections.

He warned that fabricated audio recordings, videos and images could mislead voters and erode public confidence in authentic electoral information.

“The greatest threat we face is not the hacking of a ballot box, but the hacking of the voter’s mind.

“If a voter cannot distinguish between truth and a synthetic lie, the foundation of informed consent crumbles,” he said.

The commission had earlier announced plans to deploy AI-powered tools to detect anomalies in election results and combat disinformation ahead of the 2027 polls.

At a press conference on Tuesday, October 6, INEC disclosed that it had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its Information and Communications Technology Directorate. It also said automated AI auditing tools had been integrated into its results verification process.

According to the commission, the initiative would operate under a five-pillar AI governance framework with mandatory human oversight, while its AI governance policy was being finalised.

Amupitan said the AI unit had digital monitoring tools, deepfake detection software and data analytics expertise to identify technical threats and attempts to manipulate electoral information.

He urged political parties to adopt an ethical code of conduct for AI use and called on civil society organisations to scrutinise algorithmic transparency and monitor digital campaign spending.

He also asked security agencies and judicial officers to strengthen their capacity for cybercrime investigations and digital forensics.

The INEC chairman urged media organisations to establish digital forensic desks to verify user-generated content before publication or broadcast.

He further proposed an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition involving INEC, civil society groups, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigeria Fact-Checking Coalition, media organisations and telecommunications operators.

He said the coalition would serve as an early-warning network to counter AI-generated falsehoods capable of undermining the electoral process.

Amupitan maintained that the outcome of the 2027 elections would ultimately reflect the choices of Nigerians across different occupations and communities, including traders, farmers, teachers, technology entrepreneurs, fishermen and students.

“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’s job is to ensure that the voice of the people is heard clearly, above the noise of the machines.”

He said the future of democracy must be determined by citizens through established laws and institutions, rather than by the capabilities of technology.