INEC, AU Forge Stronger Electoral Partnership Ahead of #NigeriaDecides2027
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) received a delegation from the African Union (AU), led by His Excellency Demeke Mekonnen, Head of Mission and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
The delegation was received by the Acting Chairman of INEC, Professor Rhoda Gumus, who represented the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, during a courtesy visit to the Commission.
The visit forms 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.
Speaking during the engagement, Mekonnen said the mission was designed to assess Nigeria’s electoral preparations, identify potential gaps and recommend possible measures to support a successful election.
He said the AU was particularly interested in voter registration, the application of electoral technology, logistics, funding, inclusion, transparency, electoral disputes, security and result management.
According to him, the pre-election phase is critical to the success of the entire electoral process, stressing the need for credible voter registration, transparent procedures and public confidence.
“We want to facilitate support and identify gaps, and for possible remedies and corrections for the successful election process,” Mekonnen said.
Responding, Professor 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 African Union shared a commitment to democratic standards, institutional integrity and credible electoral governance across the continent.
Gumus said INEC was preparing for the 2027 general elections on an unprecedented scale, with the voter population approaching 100 million, 176,846 polling units and a workforce exceeding 1.4 million personnel.
She added that recent off-cycle elections had provided opportunities for the Commission to test reforms under the new electoral legal framework.
The Acting Chairman also highlighted INEC’s deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), result viewing through the IReV portal and inter-agency security coordination as part of its efforts to strengthen electoral administration.
She disclosed that the Commission was collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) through the Continuous Voter Registration Portal to audit, verify and clean the voter register.
However, Gumus acknowledged that Nigeria’s geographical size and complexity continued to present technological, logistical and political challenges.
“Electoral integrity is a multi-sectoral endeavour, and international technical support remains vital to bridging operational gaps,” she said.
She identified areas where AU technical support would be valuable, including digital training for ad-hoc staff, e-learning tools, ICT simulations, election-monitoring systems, disinformation countermeasures, AI-driven deepfake detection and strategic communication.
She also called for assistance in strengthening inclusion and gender-mainstreaming frameworks for persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons, women and other underrepresented groups.
Gumus assured the delegation of INEC’s full transparency and cooperation as it engages with political parties, civil society organisations, security agencies, media executives and development partners during the mission.
She reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to independence, neutrality and professionalism, stating that every administrative decision would be guided by the law and that the outcome of the 2027 general election would reflect the sovereign will of Nigerian voters.
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