The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed confidence that it has overcome the technical challenges that affected the electronic transmission of results during the 2023 general election, assuring Nigerians that the 2027 polls will be free, fair, credible, inclusive and transparent.
The commission also disclosed that it is considering conducting a nationwide mock exercise on the electronic transmission of election results well ahead of the 2027 general election as part of efforts to strengthen public confidence in its election technology.
INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, who represented the Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at a Policy Roundtable Discussion on Electronic Transmission of Results organised by Yiaga Africa in Abuja, said the electoral body had drawn important lessons from the shortcomings experienced during the 2023 elections and had significantly improved its technological operations.
Delivering the chairman’s goodwill message, Zuru recalled that INEC had consistently advocated legal backing for electronic transmission of election results before the 2023 general election and successfully deployed the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in several off-cycle elections before extending its use nationwide.
He acknowledged, however, that the commission encountered technical difficulties in uploading presidential election results to the IReV portal during the 2023 general election.
“Unfortunately, this became very important in the light of the technical glitch experienced in uploading presidential election results to IReV. Let me assure you that we at INEC have learnt our lessons and improved our operations,” he said.
According to him, elections conducted after the 2023 general election, including governorship elections, Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections and several bye-elections, have demonstrated the commission’s improved capacity in deploying election technology successfully.
Zuru assured Nigerians that the commission remains committed to delivering a transparent and credible electoral process in 2027.
“We want to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians in general, and the voters in particular, that INEC will ensure that the 2027 general election shall be free, fair, credible, inclusive and transparent. Every valid vote will count. Voters will decide who governs them,” he stated.
Responding to questions from journalists on concerns surrounding the technical glitches and alleged hacking attempts that trailed the 2023 presidential election, the National Commissioner insisted that the commission had moved beyond those challenges.
“Yes, we are confident we will be able to handle these issues. We’ve conducted several elections, bye-elections and governorship elections since the 2023 incidents that we had, and everybody agrees that there’s remarkable improvement in the elections that have been happening.
“We just conducted the governorship election in Anambra, the FCT elections. So this is clear evidence that we have moved on from where we were on this issue,” he said.
Zuru also cautioned against placing absolute dependence on technology alone, stressing that integrity among election stakeholders remains fundamental to credible elections.
Using the controversial “Hand of God” goal scored by Diego Maradona during the 1986 FIFA World Cup as an illustration, he argued that even the most advanced technological systems cannot eliminate every dispute without honesty and sincerity from participants.
“There are three important things: honesty, truth and sincerity. Once these things are there, technology will not be an issue. Let us leverage these values as a nation to ensure that everything we do is sincere, truthful and honest,” he added.
Earlier at the event, Yiaga Africa unveiled a policy brief titled Securing the Vote: Electronic Transmission and Collation of Election Results, highlighting several legal and operational gaps in the Electoral Act 2026 and INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines relating to electronic transmission of election results.
The organisation observed that polling unit results are uploaded to the IReV portal only after backend validation instead of immediately after they are entered at polling units.
It also noted that ward and local government collation results are not currently published on the portal, a situation it argued deprives voters of real-time visibility into important stages of the results management process and fuels suspicion of manipulation.
Yiaga Africa’s Executive Director, Samson Itodo, further argued that the introduction of an electronic version of Form EC8A had created uncertainty regarding which version should prevail whenever discrepancies arise.
The organisation recommended that INEC publish a detailed protocol governing polling unit result transmission, upload ward and local government collation results to IReV, clearly define the legally authoritative version of Form EC8A, revise Paragraph 40 of its Regulations and Guidelines, develop a comprehensive election results management manual and conduct nationwide mock exercises before the 2027 general election.
Responding to the recommendation, Zuru disclosed that the commission was already considering such an initiative.
“This is an advice being given by Yiaga Africa, and this advice comes at the time we are thinking in the same direction. We will not wait until one week or two weeks to the election to do that; we will try to do that immediately,” he said.
Yiaga Africa maintained that the proposed reforms fall within INEC’s constitutional and statutory powers and could be implemented before the forthcoming Osun State governorship election as well as the 2027 general election.
“Yiaga Africa notes that these measures require no legislative amendment and fall squarely within INEC’s existing constitutional and statutory powers. Accordingly, they can be implemented in advance of the 2026 Osun Governorship Election and the 2027 General Election,” Itodo stated.
The organisation also urged political parties, candidates, election observers, civil society organisations, the media and citizens to sustain oversight and advocacy aimed at promoting a transparent, accountable and verifiable election results management process.
