The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to conduct a mock accreditation exercise in November 2026 as part of preparations for the 2027 General Election.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Friday when he received a delegation from the Canadian High Commission on a courtesy visit to the Commission’s headquarters.
According to Amupitan, the exercise will be used to assess the Commission’s level of preparedness and thoroughly test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the 2027 polls.
“Mock accreditation will be conducted in November 2026 to evaluate our preparedness for the general election,” he said.
He added that the exercise would subject the electoral system and BVAS to a comprehensive field test to strengthen the integrity and credibility of the electoral process.
Amupitan also reiterated INEC’s election timetable, stating that the Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for Saturday, January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
He said increasing voter participation, securing the ballot and strengthening public confidence in the electoral system remain key priorities for the Commission.
The INEC chairman pointed to the August 15, 2026 Osun State governorship election as an important test of the Commission’s operational readiness ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to him, 3,556 of the 3,763 polling units in the state, representing 94.5 per cent, opened for accreditation and voting by 8:30 a.m. He also highlighted BVAS performance, the uploading of results through the IReV portal and the Commission’s response to emerging challenges during the election.
Amupitan described the Osun election as a model that would guide the Commission’s preparations for the 2027 General Election.
He further disclosed that INEC is preparing to deploy approximately 1.4 million ad hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide, describing the exercise as one of the largest mobilisations of human resources for a national assignment in Nigeria’s history.
The Commission’s other priorities include strengthening technological systems, improving electoral participation among persons with disabilities, women and young people, building institutional capacity and combating misinformation ahead of the elections.
Amupitan also revealed that INEC has established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Unit to explore the use of AI in areas such as voter registration, data management and results transmission, while developing measures to prevent the technology from being abused.
He said the Commission looks forward to participating in the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections, scheduled to take place in Ottawa, Canada, from September 9 to 11, 2026. The conference is being organised by Elections Canada and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The INEC chairman also reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to impartiality and appealed to the Canadian authorities to assist in expediting visa processing for members of the INEC delegation attending the Ottawa conference.