News Investigators/ Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says integrity of the ballot in 2027 will depend not only on physical security of the polling units but largely on the authenticity of the information environment in which the voters make their decisions.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, stated this On Monday in Abuja at the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) and Electoral Information Integrity.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the two-day event is: “Beyond the Ballot: Safeguarding Electoral Information Integrity in the Age of AI.”
NAN also reports that the summit brings together key electoral actors, tech experts and civil society leaders to address how artificial intelligence impacts democratic integrity, mis/disinformation and elections.
The event is organised by International Press Centre (IPC) and DAI, under the European Union Support and Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN III) framework to address the weaponisation of information ahead of the 2027 polls.
In his remarks, Prof. Amupitan cautioned that with misinformation, public trust in the democratic process could be severely undermined long before the first ballot was cast.
“As we prepare for the 2027 general elections, the undeniable truth that we must confront is that public awareness alone is no longer an adequate defence against synthetic content and digital manipulation.
“Informing citizens that deep-fakes exist or urging caution when consuming online news is useful, but it is insufficient against well-coordinated, highly funded and hyper-targetted information operations designed to erode public trust in election administration.
“What Nigeria urgently requires is a trusted, coordinated and rights-respecting operational ecosystem.
“Also, institutional structure through which public authorities, security bodies, independent fact-checkers, media networks and platform operators can collectively anticipate emerging threats, verify evidence, escalate incidents without delay, communicate authoritatively and institutionalise post-event lessons,’’ he said.
Prof. Amupitan described digital disinformation and malicious synthetic content as significant technological threat facing modern electoral administration.
He noted that for decades, those who managed elections in emerging democracies such as Nigeria focused their primary energy on physical and operational vulnerabilities, including securing sensitive ballot papers.
“While those operational realities remain essential, the terrain of electoral integrity has fundamentally shifted.
“Today, elections can be undermined long before the first ballot is cast.
“The threat is not limited to physical interference, such as violent ballot snatching at the polling unit, it takes shape within digital networks through synthetic media, automated misinformation and disinformation, deep-fake fabrication, digital micro-targeting, and FIMI,’’ he said.
Prof. Amupitan, while reflecting on Nigeria’s technological evolution, recalled how simple innovations had transitioned over time.
He recalled that under the leadership of Prof. Attahiru Jega, INEC introduced technology into Nigeria’s electoral system through the smart card reader.
The INEC chairman said that the simple technology then transformed into the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), stressing: “but within those technologies are embedded AI operations and tools.”
He, however, observed that the rapid democratisation of generative artificial intelligence had drastically lowered the barrier to entry for malicious actors.
“With AI, it is now possible for somebody just in his small one-room cubicle to deliberately tweet or send out fake information, aimed at achieving a desired personal objective,” he said.
Prof. Amupitan noted that if the ecosystem and the electorate were not well-informed, they could be deceived into taking actions that were not only wrong, but rash.
He cited international precedents, such as the 2023 Slovakian parliamentary election—where cloned audio depicting political leaders discussing vote-buying went viral when the time for campaign had passed, preventing authorities from issuing timely debunking broadcasts before millions voted.
He added that deep-fake audio or video falsely declaring constituency results could pose direct risk of triggering civil unrest before the completion of official INEC declarations.
“When non-political actors leverage generative AI to manipulate domestic perceptions or when foreign entities execute coordinated FIMI campaigns, the casualty is not merely a candidate’s reputation, it is citizen trust in the democratic process itself,” he said.
He added that any institution that folds its arms in the face of those emerging dangers was “planning to fail,” noting that honesty remained the fundamental pillar of law and technology application:
To build technological resilience ahead of 2027, Amupitan said that INEC had established a dedicated internal AI unit in the commission.
To counter sophisticated digital threats, Amupitan said that the commission was prioritising voter education, transitioning from merely teaching citizens on how to vote to teaching them how to verify information and distinguish official communications from AI-generated deep-fakes.
He added that INEC was upgrading its digital infrastructure and collaborating with major social media platforms such as TikTok, Meta and X to flag, review and remove malicious or altered content swiftly.
He, however said that INEC could not secure electoral integrity alone, urging stakeholders, including media organisations, to transmit verified institutional alerts without administrative delays.
“Fact-checkers and independent journalists must have direct access to designated INEC communication desk to confirm operational facts within minutes rather than hours.
“Security agencies must distinguish between protected political expression and actionable digital crimes aimed at destabilising public order,” Amupitan said.
NAN