The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, has said Artificial Intelligence (AI) must be deployed to strengthen electoral institutions and public confidence rather than replace human responsibility in election management.
Amupitan stated this on Thursday, September 10, 2026, in Ottawa, Canada, while addressing the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections, where he presented Nigeria’s experience and lessons in institutionalising responsible AI for electoral administration.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by the Commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Dr. Lawrence Bayode, said the success of AI in electoral administration would depend less on the sophistication of the technology than on the strength of institutions, governance structures and safeguards guiding its deployment.
He said the growing influence of algorithms and data architectures on democratic processes had made responsible technological innovation an increasingly important consideration for election management bodies.
According to him, Nigeria has progressively deployed technology to improve the credibility, transparency and efficiency of its electoral processes, citing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and Automated Biometrics Identification System (ABIS) as examples of innovations adopted to reduce human error and manual interference.
Amupitan noted that the sheer scale of Nigeria’s electoral operations made technology indispensable to modern election administration, with more than 93 million registered voters, approximately 180,000 polling units and about 185,000 BVAS devices deployed across the country.
He, however, cautioned that AI adoption must not be driven by technology for its own sake, but by demonstrable improvements in electoral administration, public service and public confidence.
“AI must strengthen electoral integrity, improve public service, and always remain under human control,” he said.
The INEC Chairman also outlined the legal framework underpinning technology deployment in Nigeria’s electoral process, citing the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act 2026, INEC Regulations, the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and the Cybercrimes Act 2024.
He particularly highlighted provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 dealing with the voters’ register, electronic voting devices, biometric accreditation, electronic transmission of results and the use of accreditation and transmitted results in the collation and declaration of election results.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC had commenced institutional preparations for responsible AI adoption, stressing that the initiative was being treated as an organisational transformation rather than merely an ICT project.
He said the Commission had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department, developed an AI Roadmap for phased adoption and prepared an AI Governance Framework currently undergoing internal approval.
The Commission, he added, had also commenced AI literacy and technical capacity building among staff while adopting a multidisciplinary approach involving ICT, Operations, Legal, Voter Education, Risk Management and other departments.
“Responsible AI begins with institutional readiness not technology,” Amupitan said.
He identified human oversight, transparency and accountability, data protection and privacy, cybersecurity and risk management, as well as operational value and public trust as the five core principles guiding INEC’s AI initiatives.
Giving an insight into one of the Commission’s AI applications, the INEC Chairman disclosed that the Commission had introduced an intelligent Results Management process designed to assist officials in identifying discrepancies in election result records.
Under the system, polling unit result forms are digitised, information is extracted from scanned Forms EC8A and the extracted figures are compared with data entered on the BVAS. Any inconsistency is automatically flagged for review by election officials before publication.
He stressed that the system does not alter election results but assists officials by identifying issues requiring human attention.
Amupitan said effective AI deployment in electoral administration required more than software and computing infrastructure, noting that it also depended on trained personnel, AI literacy, redesigned operational procedures, structured electoral datasets, quality digitised records, secure platforms, reliable computing resources, systems integration, audit trails, risk controls and collaboration across departments.
He said INEC would assess its AI initiatives based on practical indicators, including reductions in processing errors, improved operational efficiency, reliability and resilience, staff acceptance, security performance, public confidence and the sustainability of solutions for nationwide deployment.
According to him, initiatives that fail to demonstrate sufficient value would be refined before being expanded.
Beyond election operations, the Chairman said INEC was exploring AI-powered citizen services aimed at improving voter engagement and access to electoral information.
Such services, he explained, could include intelligent voter information systems, AI-assisted responses to frequently asked questions, support for voter registration processes and faster access to electoral information.
Reflecting on the Commission’s experience, Amupitan said successful AI adoption required leadership commitment, skilled personnel, strong governance, high-quality data, human oversight, continuous evaluation and effective public communication.
He therefore described responsible AI as an organisational capability rather than merely an Information Technology project.
Looking ahead, the INEC Chairman said the Commission’s vision was to progressively build an AI-enabled Election Management Body, with emphasis on strengthening institutional AI governance, expanding staff capability, responsibly scaling successful AI applications, enhancing cybersecurity and resilience, and preserving transparency, accountability and public trust.
He reiterated that INEC would introduce AI only where it demonstrably improves electoral administration and remains consistent with legal and ethical standards.
Concluding his presentation, Amupitan said the ultimate objective of AI in electoral administration must be to strengthen democratic institutions rather than displace them.
“Responsible AI is not defined by the sophistication of the technology, but by the strength of the institutions that govern it,” he said.
