INEC Chairman: AI Must Strengthen, Not Replace Electoral Institutions
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has said the successful deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in electoral administration will depend less on the sophistication of the technology than on the strength of the institutions, governance structures and safeguards guiding its use.
The Chairman stated this on Thursday, 10 September 2026, in Ottawa, Canada, while addressing the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections, where he presented Nigeria’s experience and lessons in institutionalising responsible AI for electoral administration. He was accompanied by the Director, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Dr. Lawrence Bayode.
Prof. Amupitan said the growing influence of algorithms and data architectures on democratic processes had made responsible technological innovation an important consideration for election management bodies.
He noted that Nigeria had progressively deployed technology to strengthen the credibility and efficiency of its electoral processes, citing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Automated Biometrics Identification System (ABIS) among innovations adopted by the Commission to reduce human error and manual interference.
According to him, the sheer scale of Nigeria’s electoral operations makes technology essential to modern election administration. He noted that the country has more than 93 million registered voters, approximately 180,000 polling units and about 185,000 BVAS devices, with elections conducted simultaneously across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory.
He, however, cautioned that the adoption of AI must not be driven by technology for its own sake, but by demonstrable improvements in electoral administration, public service and public confidence.
“AI must strengthen electoral integrity, improve public service, and always remain under human control,” the Chairman stated.
Prof. Amupitan also outlined the legal architecture underpinning the deployment of technology in Nigeria’s electoral process. He referenced the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act 2026, INEC Regulations, the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and the Cybercrimes Act 2024.
He particularly highlighted provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to the voters’ register, electronic voting devices, biometric accreditation, electronic transmission of results and the use of accreditation and transmitted results in the collation and declaration of election results.
The Chairman disclosed that INEC had commenced institutional preparations for the responsible adoption of AI rather than treating the technology simply as an ICT project.
He said the Commission had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within the ICT Department; developed an AI Roadmap for phased adoption; developed an AI Governance Framework currently undergoing internal approval; commenced AI literacy and technical capacity building among staff; and adopted a multidisciplinary approach involving ICT, Operations, Legal, Voter Education, Risk Management and other departments.
“Responsible AI begins with institutional readiness — not technology,” he said.
He identified five principles guiding INEC’s AI initiatives: human oversight; transparency and accountability; data protection and privacy; cybersecurity and risk management; and operational value and public trust.
The Chairman stressed that AI would serve as an aid to election officials and would not replace human responsibility for electoral decision-making.
Giving an insight into one of the Commission’s AI initiatives, Prof. Amupitan disclosed that INEC had introduced an intelligent Results Management process designed to assist in identifying discrepancies in election result records.
