The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it will conduct a mock accreditation exercise in November 2026 as part of measures to assess its preparedness for the 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Friday when he received a delegation from the Canadian High Commission on a courtesy visit to the Commission’s headquarters.
Amupitan said the exercise would subject the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and other electoral equipment to extensive field testing to identify and address possible challenges ahead of the elections.
He appealed to Canada to support the successful conduct of the mock exercise, describing it as critical to strengthening the credibility and integrity of the electoral process.
The INEC Chairman reiterated that the Presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
He said the Commission’s preparations were focused on increasing voter participation, protecting the ballot and strengthening public confidence in the electoral system.
Amupitan described the August 15, 2026 Osun State governorship election as an important benchmark for INEC’s operational readiness. He noted that 3,556 of the 3,763 polling units, representing 94.5 per cent, opened for accreditation and voting by 8:30 a.m., while BVAS performance and electronic results transmission through the IReV portal were also satisfactory.
According to him, the Osun election would serve as a standard for improving preparations for the 2027 polls.
He also noted that public campaigns and rallies for the 2027 elections officially commenced on August 19, 2026, following the signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns by presidential candidates the previous day.
The Commission plans to deploy about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.
Amupitan said other areas of focus include electoral technology, inclusion of persons with disabilities, women and youths, institutional capacity building, and tackling misinformation.
He further disclosed that INEC had established an Artificial Intelligence Unit to support data management, voter registration and results transmission, while ensuring safeguards against the misuse of AI.
The INEC Chairman also expressed the Commission’s interest in attending the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections, organised by the United Nations Development Programme and Elections Canada, scheduled for September 9 to 11, 2026, in Ottawa.
He appealed for Canada’s assistance with expedited visa processing for the Nigerian delegation and reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to neutrality ahead of the 2027 elections.