2027 ELECTION: INEC DEPLOYS AI, WARNS NIGERIANS ABOUT DEEPFAKES

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has created an Artificial Intelligence Division ahead of the 2027 General Election, even as it warns Nigerians about the growing danger of deepfakes and fake election information.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, announced this on Tuesday in Abuja during a meeting with journalists and national stakeholders to mark 100 days to the 2027 elections.

Amupitan said the Commission’s AI operations would have mandatory human oversight, stressing that technology must not compromise the credibility of the electoral process.

He also revealed that INEC will conduct a six-day stress test of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, devices from October 23 to 28, followed by a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November.

The INEC Chairman warned that generative AI, voice cloning and deepfake videos could be used to create fake voices of election officials and manipulate result sheets.

He therefore urged journalists and media organisations to verify election information with INEC before publishing and avoid announcing results that were not officially declared.

“In national elections, it is far more important to be right than to be first,” Amupitan said.

On preparations for the election, INEC said nine of 14 statutory milestones had been completed, while more than 10.7 million new voters were registered during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, taking the national voter register to about 103 million.

The Commission also said production of 57,000 new BVAS devices was advanced and arrangements were underway to mobilise more than 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats for election logistics.

INEC said it would also deploy joint monitoring and surveillance teams with security and financial crime agencies to tackle vote-buying.

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