A delegation from the African Union (AU) has visited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of its Pre-Election and Needs Assessment Mission ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The mission, led by former Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonnen, is scheduled to run from September 13 to 19, 2026.
Mekonnen and his delegation were received at INEC headquarters in Abuja by the Acting Chairman of the commission, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, who represented the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan.
Mekonnen said the mission would assess Nigeria’s preparations in areas including voter registration, electoral technology, logistics, funding, inclusion and transparency.
He said the AU would also identify potential gaps before, during and after the elections and recommend measures that could support a successful electoral process.
Gumus said INEC was preparing for the 2027 elections on an unprecedented scale, with the voter population approaching 100 million, 176,846 polling units and more than 1.4 million personnel expected to work during the elections.
She said recent off-cycle elections had allowed the commission to test reforms introduced under the new electoral legal framework.
The Acting Chairman highlighted the deployment of BVAS, result viewing through the IReV portal and inter-agency security coordination as measures aimed at strengthening electoral administration.
She added that INEC was working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) through the Continuous Voter Registration Portal to audit, verify and clean the voter register.
Gumus, however, acknowledged that Nigeria’s geographical size and complexity posed technological, logistical and political challenges, stressing the importance of cooperation among stakeholders.
She identified areas where AU technical support could be useful, including digital training for ad-hoc staff, e-learning tools, ICT simulations, election monitoring systems, disinformation countermeasures, AI-driven deepfake detection and strategic communication.