The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the African Union (AU) have strengthened their collaboration ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, with the continental body pledging to identify gaps and provide technical support for a credible electoral process.
The commitment was made when an AU Pre-Election and Needs Assessment Mission, led by former Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, paid a courtesy visit to INEC.
Mekonnen, who is Head of the AU Mission, was received by INEC Acting Chairman, Professor Rhoda Gumus, who represented the Commission’s Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN.
The visit is part of the AU’s Pre-Election and Needs Assessment Mission to Nigeria, scheduled for September 13 to 19, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mekonnen said the mission was aimed at assessing Nigeria’s level of preparedness, identifying possible gaps and recommending measures that could support the successful conduct of the elections.
He said the AU was particularly interested in key areas including voter registration, deployment of electoral technology, logistics, funding, inclusion, transparency, electoral disputes, security and result management.
He described the pre-election phase as critical to the success of the entire electoral cycle, stressing the importance of credible voter registration, transparent procedures and public confidence in the process.
“We want to facilitate support and identify gaps, and for possible remedies and corrections for the successful election process,” Mekonnen said.
Responding, Gumus conveyed the warm compliments of the INEC Chairman and welcomed the AU delegation, describing the mission as timely and significant to Nigeria’s democratic development.
She said Nigeria and the AU shared a common commitment to democratic standards, institutional integrity and credible electoral governance across Africa.
According to her, INEC is preparing for the 2027 elections on an unprecedented scale, with the number of registered voters approaching 100 million, 176,846 polling units and an election workforce of more than 1.4 million personnel.
Gumus added that recent off-cycle elections had enabled the Commission to test and assess electoral reforms introduced under the new legal framework.
She highlighted the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), result viewing through the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), as well as inter-agency security coordination as measures being deployed to improve electoral administration.
The Acting Chairman further disclosed that INEC was collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) through the Continuous Voter Registration Portal to audit, verify and clean up the national voter register.
She, however, acknowledged that Nigeria’s vast geographical spread and complex political environment continued to pose technological, logistical and political challenges to election management.
“Electoral integrity is a multi-sectoral endeavour, and international technical support remains vital to bridging operational gaps,” she said.
Gumus identified several areas where AU technical assistance could strengthen preparations for the 2027 elections.
They include digital training for ad-hoc election personnel, e-learning platforms, ICT simulations, election-monitoring systems, measures to counter disinformation, artificial intelligence-driven deepfake detection and strategic communication.
She also called for greater technical support in strengthening inclusion and gender-mainstreaming frameworks, particularly for persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons, women and other underrepresented groups.
Gumus assured the delegation that INEC would maintain full transparency and cooperation throughout the AU mission as it engages political parties, civil society organisations, security agencies, media executives and development partners.
She reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to independence, neutrality and professionalism, stressing that its decisions would be guided by the law.
She added that INEC would continue to work towards ensuring that the outcome of the 2027 general elections reflects the sovereign will of Nigerian voters.