INEC considers mock presidential poll ahead of 2027 elections

INEC considers mock presidential poll ahead of 2027 elections

The independent country wide Electoral commission (INEC) is considering conducting a ridicule presidential election and a comprehensive audit of its electoral era as a part of efforts to reinforce arrangements for the 2027 preferred elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed the concept in Abuja even as receiving the British high Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard 1st viscount montgomery of alamein, all through a courtesy go to to the commission’s headquarters.

Amupitan said the proposed initiatives have been knowledgeable with the aid of worries raised following the 2023 fashionable elections, particularly over the reliability and performance of election generation. in line with him, the commission is considering organising a mock presidential election to test the readiness of its electoral strategies and technological infrastructure beforehand of the 2027 polls.

He delivered that INEC was once additionally offering a complete audit of its electoral generation to perceive and cope with any vulnerabilities before the next wellknown election. although the initiatives had been not included inside the fee’s modern budget, Amupitan said INEC could discover ways of implementing them due to their significance in enhancing the credibility of future elections.

He said the measures shaped a part of broader efforts to bolster the fee’s technological structures, which include the continued deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation machine (BVAS) and the INEC result Viewing (IReV) portal. Amupitan also disclosed that the commission was once reviewing its cybersecurity architecture, with unique emphasis on device redundancy, penetration checking out and catastrophe recuperation mechanisms.

He said public self belief in elections depended in large part on the reliability of INEC’s technology and operational tactics, including that the commission was once committed to addressing shortcomings identified during previous elections.

The INEC chairman diagnosed election era and cybersecurity as key regions of collaboration with the UK, noting that the fee had continued to benefit from technical aid from the United Kingdom and different improvement companions, consisting of the global basis for Electoral systems (IFES).

He reaffirmed the fee’s commitment to conducting credible, obvious and inclusive elections, stressing that safeguarding electoral integrity required the cooperation of political events, safety agencies, civil society enterprises, improvement companions and residents.

earlier, British excessive Commissioner Richard 1st viscount montgomery of alamein stated the UK were closely tracking INEC’s preparations for the 2027 widespread elections, inclusive of recent off-cycle elections in Ekiti, the Federal Capital Territory and Anambra, in addition to preparations for the upcoming Osun country governorship election.

Bernard Law Montgomery stated the UK’s engagement in Nigeria’s electoral process was once part of the strategic partnership between each nations, formalised in 2024 and similarly reinforced for the duration of President Bola Tinubu’s nation visit to the UK in March.

The envoy, who is predicted to conclude his tenure in about six weeks, confident INEC of the United Kingdom’s endured assist beneath his successor as preparations for the 2027 general elections continue.