Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has said that the success of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in elections will depend more on strong institutions and effective governance than on the sophistication of the technology.
The INEC President stated this on Thursday, September 10, 2026, while making Nigeria’s presentation at the World Conference on Responsible AI and Elections in Ottawa, Canada.
He was accompanied by the Director of Information and Communications Technologies of INEC, Dr. Lawrence Bayode.
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The INEC chairman said the increasing use of algorithms and data in democratic processes had made responsible innovation an important consideration for electoral management bodies.
According to him, Nigeria has progressively deployed technology to improve the credibility, efficiency and transparency of its elections, citing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
He said the technologies were introduced to reduce human error and limit manual interference in the electoral process.
Amupitan noted that the scale of the elections in Nigeria made the technology indispensable, with more than 93 million registered voters, around 180,000 polling units and approximately 185,000 BVAS devices deployed across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“AI must strengthen electoral integrity, improve public service and always remain under human control,” he said.
He cautioned that AI adoption should not be driven by the technology itself, but by its ability to deliver measurable improvements in election administration, service delivery and public trust.
The INEC Chairman also outlined the legal framework governing the deployment of technology in Nigerian elections, including the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026, INEC regulations, the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 and the Cybercrime Act 2024.
He said that the Electoral Law of 2026 provides for voter registration, electronic voting devices, biometric accreditation, electronic transmission of results, as well as the use of accredited and transmitted data in the collation and declaration of results.
On preparations for the adoption of AI, Amupitan said INEC had initiated institutional measures, including the development of an AI roadmap for its gradual adoption and an AI governance framework which is in the process of internal approval.
He added that the Commission was also investing in AI literacy and staff capacity building, while taking a multidisciplinary approach involving its ICT, Operations, Legal, Voter Education and Risk Management departments.
“Responsible AI starts with institutional preparation, not technology,” he said.
Amupitan listed five principles that guide the Commission’s AI initiatives as human oversight; transparency and accountability; data protection and privacy; cybersecurity and risk management; and operational value and public trust.
He stressed that AI will continue to be a support tool for election officials and will not replace human decision-making.
As an example, he said INEC had introduced a smart results management process whereby electoral unit results forms are digitized, data is extracted from the scanned EC8A form and the figures are compared with the BVAS entries.
According to him, discrepancies are automatically flagged for review by officials before publication.
“The system does not alter the results. It helps officials identify issues that require human attention,” he explained.
The INEC president said effective implementation of AI would require trained personnel, quality data sets, secure platforms, systems integration, audit trails and cross-departmental collaboration, rather than software alone.
He said the Commission would evaluate AI projects based on indicators such as reducing processing errors, improving efficiency, system reliability, staff acceptance, security performance, public trust and sustainability before considering nationwide expansion.
Amupitan added that projects without clear value would be reviewed and refined before being scaled up.
Beyond electoral operations, he said INEC was exploring AI-powered citizen services, including smart voter information tools, AI-assisted answers to frequently asked questions and support for voter registration.
Reflecting on the lessons of technology adoption, he said successful implementation of AI required leadership commitment, qualified personnel, strong governance, quality data, human oversight, continuous evaluation and clear communication with the public.
Looking ahead, Amupitan said INEC’s vision was to build an AI-enabled electoral management body by strengthening AI governance, expanding staff capacity, responsibly scaling successful applications and improving cybersecurity, while preserving transparency and public trust.
“Responsible AI is not defined by the sophistication of the technology, but by the strength of the institutions that govern it,” added the INEC president..
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