The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has warned 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.
Amupitan stated this on Thursday, September 10, 2026, while delivering Nigeria’s presentation at the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections in Ottawa, Canada.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by the Commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, said the growing use of algorithms and data in democratic processes had made responsible innovation critical to election management.
He said Nigeria had progressively deployed technology to improve the credibility, efficiency and transparency of elections, citing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
According to him, the technologies were introduced to reduce human error and limit manual interference in the electoral process.
Amupitan said the scale of Nigeria’s elections made technology indispensable, noting that the country has more than 93 million registered voters, about 180,000 polling units and approximately 185,000 BVAS devices deployed nationwide.
“AI must strengthen electoral integrity, improve public service, and always remain under human control,” he said.
He stressed that AI adoption should not be driven by technology for its own sake but by its ability to deliver measurable improvements in election administration, service delivery and public confidence.
The INEC Chairman said the Commission had commenced preparations for responsible AI adoption through the development of an AI Roadmap for phased implementation and an AI Governance Framework undergoing internal approval.
He added that INEC was investing in AI literacy and staff capacity building while adopting a multidisciplinary approach involving its ICT, Operations, Legal, Voter Education and Risk Management departments.
“Responsible AI begins with institutional readiness — not technology,” Amupitan declared.
He listed human oversight, transparency and accountability, data protection and privacy, cybersecurity and risk management, and operational value and public trust as the five principles guiding INEC’s AI initiatives.
Amupitan further explained that AI would serve only as a support tool for election officials and would not replace human decision-making.
He cited INEC’s intelligent Results Management process as an example, explaining that polling unit result forms are digitised, data extracted from scanned Form EC8A and figures compared with BVAS entries, with discrepancies automatically flagged for human review.
“The system does not alter results. It assists officials by identifying issues that require human attention,” he said.
The INEC Chairman said successful AI deployment would require trained personnel, quality datasets, secure platforms, system integration, audit trails and collaboration across departments.
He said the Commission would assess AI projects based on indicators including reduced processing errors, improved efficiency, system reliability, staff acceptance, security performance, public confidence and sustainability before considering nationwide expansion.
Beyond election operations, Amupitan disclosed that INEC was exploring AI-powered citizen services, including intelligent voter information tools, AI-assisted responses to frequently asked questions and support for voter registration.
Looking ahead, he said the Commission’s vision was to build an AI-enabled Election Management Body by strengthening AI governance, expanding staff capacity, responsibly scaling successful applications and enhancing 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,” the INEC Chairman added.
