The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will conduct a mock presidential election as part of efforts to strengthen preparations for the 2027 general election.
The electoral umpire said the exercise would form part of a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology systems ahead of the polls.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard Montgomery, who paid a courtesy visit to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Amupitan said the proposals were informed by concerns arising from the 2023 general election, particularly around the reliability of election technology.
He said the Commission was considering auditing all its systems ahead of 2027, alongside the mock presidential poll, to test the readiness of its processes and technology before the actual election.
According to him, the plans were not originally captured in INEC’s budget, but the Commission would explore ways to fund them given their value in strengthening the credibility of the election.
He tied the proposals to INEC’s wider push for technological reliability, including continued use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), as well as an ongoing review of its cyber-security architecture covering system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery.
Amupitan said public confidence in the electoral process depends heavily on the reliability of INEC’s technology and processes, adding that the Commission remains committed to fixing gaps identified in previous elections.
He listed election technology and cyber-security as key areas of continued collaboration between INEC and the United Kingdom, describing the UK’s technical partnership — alongside that of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) — as valuable to strengthening Nigeria’s electoral processes.
He reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to delivering credible, transparent elections that reflect the will of Nigerians, stressing that electoral credibility is a shared responsibility involving political parties, security agencies, civil society, development partners and citizens.
Dr. Montgomery, in his remarks, said his team had been closely following INEC’s preparations for 2027, including the recent off-cycle elections in Ekiti, the Federal Capital Territory and Anambra, as well as ongoing preparations for the Osun State governorship election.
He described the UK Government’s interest in Nigeria’s democratic process as both a moral and practical gesture, citing the strategic partnership signed by both governments in 2024 and President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the UK in March.
The High Commissioner, who said he would be concluding his tenure in about six weeks, assured INEC of continued British support under his successor, expressing confidence the incoming envoy would sustain a productive relationship with the Commission ahead of 2027.
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