The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Joash Amupitan, has declared that artificial intelligence and computer algorithms will not determine the outcome of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, stressing that the authority to elect political leaders belongs to voters.
Amupitan made the declaration on Wednesday at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, organised around the theme, “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
He said artificial intelligence could influence election administration, political communication and the information reaching voters, but insisted that the technology must not replace human judgment or undermine democratic institutions.
“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” Amupitan said. He added that although algorithms could predict patterns, optimise routes and suggest preferences, they could neither exercise democratic rights nor make the final choice of who should govern the country.
The forum, co-convened by INEC and Yiaga Africa, brought together electoral officials, political party representatives, civil society groups, media executives, security agencies and technology companies to discuss the opportunities and risks associated with AI ahead of the next general elections.
Amupitan described the 2027 polls as a major democratic exercise, saying INEC would conduct elections involving more than 103 million registered voters across 176,846 polling units in 774 local government areas.
He disclosed that the commission had completed 10 of the 14 major operational milestones outlined under the Electoral Act 2026. According to him, INEC had also procured additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, digitised candidate nominations and processed more than 15,000 nominations submitted by 22 political parties.
Despite the operational benefits technology could offer, the electoral chief warned that the growing use of generative AI, deepfakes, synthetic media, targeted political advertising and automated cyberattacks could threaten public confidence in the electoral process.
He also identified algorithmic bias as a concern, particularly where automated systems could influence how political information is distributed or how voters perceive candidates.
“The greatest threat we face is not the hacking of a ballot box, but the hacking of the voter’s mind,” he said, highlighting the danger of manipulating public opinion through misleading digital content.
Amupitan maintained that critical electoral processes, including result collation, voter accreditation and candidate qualification, would not be left entirely to automated systems.
He also called for the establishment of an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition involving INEC, civil society organisations, media institutions and telecommunications operators. Such collaboration, he indicated, would help strengthen public information, identify emerging threats and protect the integrity of election-related communication.
As political campaigns increasingly rely on digital platforms, the challenge for electoral authorities will be to use technology to improve efficiency while ensuring that voters retain control of democratic choices.
