INEC Tightens IReV Safeguards, Sets November 28 Mock Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has introduced new technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate election results and figures indicating over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The commission also announced plans to conduct a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise on November 28, 2026, to test its electoral technology ahead of the polls.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser, Adedayo Oketola, following his appearance at Chatham House in London.

Amupitan spoke during a high-level dialogue organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) on the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”

The INEC chairman said the November 28 exercise would test the commission’s accreditation and electronic result transmission systems across the country.

“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right,” he said.

He explained that the commission had identified weaknesses in its result management process following the controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election and had introduced measures to prevent a recurrence.

Acknowledging that the 2023 election created a significant trust deficit for INEC, Amupitan said the commission was working to restore public confidence through improvements recorded in subsequent off-cycle elections.

“First and foremost, let me speak about what happened in 2023, which resulted in a significant trust deficit for INEC—damage so large that the Commission has not yet fully recovered from it,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to trust his leadership, citing the governorship elections in Anambra and Osun states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council polls, the Ekiti governorship election and 16 legislative by-elections as evidence of improvements.

According to him, the recent elections in Anambra and Osun demonstrated the commission’s capacity to address operational challenges, noting that results in both states were declared the day after voting.

He recalled that the 2021 Anambra governorship election took about five days to conclude, adding that lessons from previous elections had informed the commission’s administrative reforms.

On the controversies surrounding electronic transmission of results in 2023, Amupitan said INEC’s post-election assessment identified collation centres as a major source of problems in election result management.

He explained that the commission had consequently developed technical measures to ensure that results containing inaccuracies or figures indicating over-voting would not be uploaded to IReV.

“We found that the core problem of election result management and declaration in Nigeria is not even at the polling unit—it is at the collation centres,” he said.

“In 2023, there were instances of inaccurate results or results with over-voting being uploaded onto IReV. We have now devised a technical safeguard: if a result is not accurate at the polling unit, it will not go to IReV at all.”

He added that the new arrangement would make information available on the portal more reliable and reduce inconsistencies during the collation process.

The INEC chairman said the commission had considered introducing an entirely new electoral technology for the 2027 elections but opted to upgrade its existing infrastructure because of the limited time available before the polls.

On concerns over the malfunctioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the 2023 elections, particularly in areas affected by extreme heat and poor storage conditions, Amupitan said INEC was constructing climate-controlled storage facilities across the states and the FCT.

He also disclosed that the commission had procured additional BVAS devices and reduced the maximum number of registered voters assigned to each machine from 1,250 to 850.

According to him, polling units with more than 850 registered voters would be provided with additional devices to ensure a smoother accreditation process.

On the funding of the 2027 general elections, Amupitan said INEC had received a substantial portion of its approved election budget but was still awaiting the release of the outstanding balance.

He said the commission had been assured that the remaining funds, including allocations for the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc election personnel, would be released before the end of November.

The chairman also addressed allegations questioning his neutrality following claims on social media linking his telephone number to a controversial X account.

He denied operating an X account, saying an independent forensic examination had been obtained and the matter referred to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.

Amupitan also dismissed concerns that his previous involvement in political cases as a legal practitioner could affect his neutrality as INEC chairman.

He maintained that his previous legal engagements were undertaken in his professional capacity as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria before his appointment.

“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act,” he said.

On allegations of irregularities in the voters’ register, including claims of an 85 per cent increase in registered voters in a ward in Ebonyi State, the INEC chairman said the commission had investigated and resolved the complaint in accordance with statutory provisions.

He noted that the Electoral Act provided procedures and timelines for claims, objections and requests for certified true copies of the voters’ register.

Amupitan also urged young Nigerians to remain actively involved in the democratic process and guard against the spread of misinformation, which he described as a major threat to democracy.

“This country belongs to young Nigerians, and they must not relent in working for the Nigeria they desire,” he said.

The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.