The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is deploying artificial intelligence to check electronically entered election result figures against scanned result sheets before upload, as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general election.
The Initiative is part of efforts to reduce human error and strengthen electoral transparency, amid growing concerns that AI-generated misinformation could undermine voters’ confidence in the electoral process .
THE SYSTEM
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, disclosed the plan at the launch of the AI for Elections Programme and Hackathon, organised by Rise Networks in Abuja on Thursday.
Bayode said the commission had established an Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and was developing a framework to guide the responsible deployment of the technology .
Explaining the result verification process, he said the system would flag discrepancies between electronically entered figures and scanned result sheets, requiring them to be resolved before upload.
“If the electronically entered figures are consistent with the scanned results, the system allows the results to be uploaded automatically to the portal,” he said.
He said the initiative was intended to improve efficiency, reduce human error and ensure that results published on INEC’s portal reflected those recorded at polling units.
THE WARNING
Despite the optimism, Bayode warned that electoral innovation must not compromise security, operational stability or public confidence.
He urged developers to work with publicly available or authorised data without exposing critical election infrastructure .
THE MISINFORMATION THREAT
Meta’s Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa, Sade Dada, said AI had made it increasingly difficult for citizens to distinguish genuine information from manipulated content, creating fresh challenges for election integrity.
“Elections are decided by voters. Voters make decisions based on what they believe, and what they believe depends on what they can trust,” Dada said .
She identified synthetic voices and cloned videos as emerging threats but argued that the technology could also help detect manipulated content and make credible electoral information accessible in local languages.
“Build something that makes the truth easier to find than falsehood,” she challenged developers.
THE HACKATHON
The programme’s convener, Dr Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, said the initiative would bring together developers, researchers, journalists, election experts and civil society organisations to build functional solutions to electoral challenges ahead of 2027.
She said the programme followed the development of Run-Am, an AI-powered misinformation detection and fact-checking application created for Nigeria’s 2023 elections .
Applications opened on Thursday, October 22, and will close on November 12, 2026.
Eligible Nigerians aged 18 and above may apply individually or in teams of up to four.
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The competition has a ₦10 million prize pool, with ₦4 million for the overall winner, ₦2.5 million for second place and ₦1.5 million for third place, alongside four special awards worth ₦500,000 each .
WHY IT MATTERS
Nigeria’s elections have long been plagued by allegations of result manipulation, particularly at the collation stage.
The introduction of AI to verify figures against scanned sheets is a significant step towards ensuring that what is uploaded to INEC’s portal matches what was recorded at polling units.
But the technology is only as good as the data it is fed and the safeguards around it. If the scanned sheets are compromised, the AI will simply verify a lie.
The hackathon and the broader AI framework suggest that INEC is aware of the risks. Whether it can translate these initiatives into a credible 2027 election remains to be seen.
ValidViewNetwork reports that the AI for Elections Programme will culminate in a national grand finale in Lagos on December 16, 2026.