ABUJA – Ahead of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s World Press Conference on preparations for the 2027 general election, six civil society organisations have challenged the Commission to provide verifiable evidence that its election technology, result management systems and operational preparations are ready for the polls.
The organisations specifically want INEC to demonstrate that the result-upload problem experienced during the 2023 general election has been rectified and subject its key election technologies to testing that can be independently verified.
The demand is contained in an open memorandum endorsed by the Centre for Media and Society, International Press Centre, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa, The Kukah Centre and Yiaga Africa.
With the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, the groups said the period ahead of the polls should be used to provide Nigerians with measurable evidence of preparedness rather than general assurances.
“INEC must move beyond general assurances and provide regular, verifiable evidence of operational readiness,” the organisations said.
They called on the Commission to publish a dated readiness dashboard covering election funding, procurement milestones, delivery and storage of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, their secure distribution and contingency arrangements for areas affected by insecurity or infrastructure challenges.
The CSOs also want INEC to disclose recruitment requirements and numbers for election personnel, training schedules, deployment plans and welfare arrangements for ad hoc staff.
They said vacancies in key leadership and technical positions should be filled early enough to protect institutional capacity and operational continuity.
Spotlight on BVAS, IReV
Election technology is one of the major concerns raised in the memorandum.
The organisations asked INEC to explain in clear terms how the Electoral Act 2026 and the Commission’s regulations and guidelines will apply to voter accreditation, polling-unit result management, collation and publication of results, including the use of electronic Form EC8A.
They also called for stress tests of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and the INEC Result Viewing portal, IReV, and want the results of those tests made public.
INEC should also disclose fallback procedures for technology failures and provide clear audit trails for corrections or delayed uploads of election results, they said.
Referring specifically to the result-upload problems during the 2023 general election, the organisations asked the Commission to “publish verifiable evidence” that the problem has been rectified.
They said the improvements should be further verified by observers during INEC’s planned mock accreditation exercise.
The groups also want INEC to publish guidelines for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards, detailing the logistical arrangements and personnel that will be deployed to prevent delays and possible disenfranchisement.
They further asked the Commission to clarify arrangements for downloadable voter cards and issue clear guidance on how they would apply during the general election.
Parties warned against intimidation, vote buying
The memorandum also places responsibilities on political parties and candidates, security agencies, the media, judiciary, community leaders and civil society.
Political parties and candidates were urged to reject hate speech, ethnic and religious incitement, threats, coercion, vote buying and obstruction of lawful political activity.
The organisations also warned against using the advantages of incumbency to restrict opposition parties’ access to campaign venues, outdoor advertising and other shared resources.
They said access should be governed by transparent and non-discriminatory rules applicable to all parties and candidates.
CSOs seek public election-security plan
The groups asked the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to publish a coordinated election-security framework detailing threat assessments, risk mitigation measures, command responsibilities, rules of engagement, protection for vulnerable communities and rapid-response and complaints procedures.
Security personnel, they said, must operate impartially and should never be used as instruments of partisan coercion.
The media was urged to provide equitable, issue-based coverage, distinguish journalism from sponsored content, verify viral claims before amplification and correct errors prominently.
Religious and community leaders were asked to reject violence, exclusion and collective blame, while the judiciary was urged to resolve election disputes within stipulated timelines and publish reasoned decisions promptly.
The organisations also turned the spotlight on themselves, saying civil society must improve coordination of election observation and civic education, verify claims before advocacy and maintain independence and consistency in reporting.
“We must demand from ourselves the same transparency, fairness and accountability we demand from public institutions,” the memorandum said.
The groups said the credibility of the 2027 elections would depend substantially on decisions and preparations made before polling day.
They called on institutions involved in the electoral process to state what they will do, when they will do it and how Nigerians can assess their progress.
