The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to conduct a nationwide mock presidential election ahead of the 2027 general polls to test its result-transmission infrastructure and prevent a repeat of past technical challenges.
Chairman Joash Amupitan disclosed this on Sunday during a Citizens’ Townhall on the Electoral Act 2026 in Abuja. He assured Nigerians that the electoral body is committed to delivering what he described as the country’s best election yet.
The commission recently revised the 2027 electoral schedule. Presidential and National Assembly elections are now set for January 16, 2027, while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027. Previously, these polls were scheduled for February 20 and March 6, respectively.
Amupitan explained that the mock exercise aims to thoroughly test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) across states, citing gaps in large-scale stress testing during the 2023 presidential election.
“Election anywhere in the world is now about technology, but before deploying any technology, it is important to test it thoroughly,” he said.
He assured that technical glitches experienced in 2023 will not recur. “The glitch is eliminated; by God’s grace, it will not surface in Nigeria,” Amupitan stated, adding that delays experienced previously were isolated rather than systemic failures.
The INEC chairman highlighted logistics and result management as critical operational challenges. He said network availability, rather than electronic transmission itself, remains the major hurdle.
“By the grace of God, the 2027 election will be the best Nigeria has ever had. The electorate is more aware and understands the correlation between elections and national development,” he noted.
Amupitan emphasised that credible elections are “the lifeblood of democracy” and vowed a process that guarantees legitimacy and public confidence.
The assurances come after President Bola Tinubu assented to the amended Electoral Act 2026, which authorises both electronic and manual transmission of results depending on infrastructure and feasibility.
While supporters call the hybrid model pragmatic, opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, argue it could weaken transparency and have urged immediate amendments ahead of the 2027 polls.
