INEC Assures IRI of Transparency, Readiness for 2027 General Election
Oru Leonard
INEC Assures IRI of Transparency, Readiness for 2027 General Election
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the International Republican Institute (IRI) of its commitment to transparency, impartiality and continuous improvement as preparations intensify for the 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, gave the assurance on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, when he received a Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) delegation of the IRI, led by Ambassador Dr. Jendayi Frazier, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Frazier is a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa.
Amupitan described the IRI as a dependable global partner in strengthening democratic institutions, electoral integrity and electoral management bodies across Africa, noting that the delegation’s visit from August 11 to 21 was coming at a critical point in Nigeria’s electoral calendar.
He said the mission was particularly timely following the successful conduct of the Osun State off-cycle governorship election on August 15 and the scheduled commencement of statutory campaigns and rallies for the 2027 General Election on August 19.
According to him, INEC has used recent off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, as well as legislative by-elections, as operational tests for its technology, logistics and security coordination systems ahead of the 2027 elections.
The INEC Chairman said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the electronic display of Polling Unit result sheets through the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal had continued to demonstrate strong operational reliability, with recent off-cycle elections recording result-upload rates of above 98 percent.
He said the Commission was now scaling up its administrative and logistical capacity for the 2027 elections, which would require the deployment of approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.
Amupitan identified Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), voter register auditing, logistics optimisation and improved electoral inclusivity as key areas of the Commission’s operational roadmap.
He explained that the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) would be utilised to identify and eliminate duplicate voter records, while early deployment arrangements and stronger partnerships with transport unions would help ensure timely opening of polling units.
The Chairman also said INEC was enhancing accessibility at polling units and providing specialised support for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly voters.
On the challenges confronting Nigeria’s electoral process, Amupitan identified insecurity, electoral violence, vote-buying, hate speech, disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) as major threats to voter confidence and credible elections.
He said INEC was working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), as well as anti-corruption agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to enforce electoral laws, monitor campaign finance and prosecute electoral offenders.
He also disclosed that the Commission would participate alongside presidential candidates in the National Peace Committee’s signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns, aimed at promoting political civility ahead of the 2027 elections.
Amupitan stressed that INEC considers international election observation missions as institutional partners rather than critics, saying their independent assessments and recommendations help the Commission identify operational gaps, improve strategies and strengthen public confidence.
He assured the IRI delegation of INEC’s “unreserved transparency, open door policy, and full cooperation” during its current assessment mission and ahead of the International Election Observation Mission for the 2027 General Election.
The INEC Chairman reaffirmed the Commission’s neutrality, saying it had no preference for any political party or candidate.
“Our sole mandate is to serve as an uncompromising, impartial umpire dedicated to delivering a free, fair, credible, transparent, and inclusive election that reflects the sovereign will of the Nigerian people,” he said.
The IRI delegation is expected to engage with relevant stakeholders across Nigeria as part of its pre-election assessment ahead of the 2027 General Election.
