By Franklin Adole
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is deploying artificial intelligence to automatically detect discrepancies between electronically entered election results and scanned polling-unit result sheets before figures are uploaded to its results portal in the 2027 general election.
Under the new system, any mismatch between figures entered electronically and those contained in scanned result sheets will be immediately flagged and must be resolved before the results can proceed to upload.
INEC Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, disclosed the initiative on Thursday at the launch of the AI for Elections Programme and Hackathon organised by Rise Networks in Abuja.
“If the electronically entered figures are consistent with the scanned results, the system allows the results to be uploaded automatically to the portal,” Bayode said.
He explained that the technology is intended to reduce human error, strengthen transparency, and provide an additional layer of verification to ensure that results published electronically accurately reflect figures recorded at polling units.
The development could mark a significant expansion in INEC’s use of technology ahead of the 2027 polls.
Bayode disclosed that the commission had established an Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and was developing a framework to regulate the responsible use of AI in election administration.
He, however, warned that technological innovation must not expose critical electoral infrastructure or compromise operational security and public confidence.
Developers, he said, must restrict themselves to publicly available or specifically authorised data when designing electoral applications.
The initiative comes amid growing concern over another side of the AI revolution—the potential use of deepfakes, cloned voices, manipulated videos, and other synthetic content to spread misinformation during elections.
Meta’s Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa, Sade Dada, warned that rapidly improving AI tools were making it increasingly difficult for voters to distinguish authentic information from fabricated material.
“Elections are decided by voters. Voters make decisions based on what they believe, and what they believe depends on what they can trust,” she said.
Dada said the same technology could, however, be deployed to identify manipulated content and make verified electoral information available to Nigerians in local languages.
She cited GovGuide Nigeria, an AI-powered chatbot providing government information in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, as an example of technology that could be adapted to provide voters with reliable information about registration, polling units, and election procedures.
“Build something that makes the truth easier to find than falsehood,” she told developers.
Convener of the AI for Elections Programme, Dr Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, said developers, researchers, journalists, election experts, and civil society organisations would collaborate on practical technological solutions ahead of the 2027 elections.
The programme will focus on trustworthy electoral information, misinformation detection, data analysis, multilingual civic technology, cybersecurity, election observation, and citizen accountability.
Applications opened on October 22 and will close on November 12, with Nigerians aged 18 and above eligible to participate individually or in teams of up to four.
A N10 million prize pool has been provided, including N4 million for the overall winner, N2.5 million for second place, and N1.5 million for third place. Four additional special awards will attract N500,000 each.
Professor Victor Odumuyiwa of the University of Lagos urged INEC to prioritise Nigerian-developed technology, arguing that local developers had a better understanding of the country’s peculiar electoral challenges.
“We understand our context, we know the problems, and we are the ones best placed to solve them,” he said.
The organisers stressed that the programme would remain non-partisan and would prohibit projects designed to manipulate voter preferences or interfere with election administration.
Unauthorised testing of live INEC systems will also be prohibited.
The programme is scheduled to culminate in a national grand finale in Lagos on December 16, after which selected innovations will receive further technical support.
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