INEC strengthens IReV safeguards, schedules November 28 mock poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission has introduced new technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate election results from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday during a high-level dialogue at Chatham House, London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative.

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The chairman said the measures followed an assessment of the 2023 general elections, which exposed weaknesses in the country’s result management process, particularly at collation centres.

Acknowledging the damage caused by the 2023 election controversies, Amupitan said, “First and foremost, let me speak about what happened in 2023, which resulted in a significant trust deficit for INEC—damage so large that the Commission has not yet fully recovered from it.”

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On the new safeguards, he explained that the Commission had developed a technical mechanism to prevent inaccurate figures and results involving over-voting from appearing on IReV.

“We have now devised a technical safeguard: if a result is not accurate at the polling unit, it will not go to IReV at all,” he said.

“The moment a result appears on IReV, citizens can trust what they see. By eliminating inconsistencies at the source, collation will become a transparent formality.”

Amupitan also announced that INEC would conduct a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise on November 28, 2026, to test its preparedness for the 2027 elections.

“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right,” he stated.

The INEC chairman further disclosed that the Commission had upgraded its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), following reported malfunctions associated with extreme heat and storage conditions during the 2023 elections.

According to him, INEC has procured additional devices, reduced the maximum number of voters assigned to each BVAS machine from 1,250 to 850 and commenced plans for climate-controlled storage facilities across the states.

On preparations for the elections, Amupitan identified insecurity, logistics and result management as the Commission’s three major priorities.

He also confirmed that INEC was awaiting the release of outstanding funds for the 2027 elections, adding that assurances had been received that the money would be released before the end of November.

Defending his neutrality amid allegations linking his phone number to a controversial X account, the chairman denied operating the account and said the matter had been referred to the Department of State Services and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.

He reaffirmed his commitment to the Constitution, declaring, “My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act.”

Amupitan urged Nigerians, particularly young people, to remain engaged in the democratic process and avoid spreading unverified information.

“Misinformation remains one of the greatest threats to our democracy. Citizens must verify information before acting or sharing, and give our democracy the chance to succeed,” he said.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.

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