The Independent National Electoral Commission has unveiled plans to conduct a nationwide mock presidential election ahead of the 2027 general polls, in a move aimed at testing its result-transmission system and preventing a repeat of the technical issues recorded in 2023.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Sunday during the Citizens’ Townhall on the Electoral Act 2026 held in Abuja. He assured Nigerians that the commission was determined to deliver what he described as the country’s best-ever election.
The announcement comes shortly after INEC adjusted the timetable for the 2027 elections. Under the revised schedule, Presidential and National Assembly elections will now take place on January 16, 2027, while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are slated for February 6, 2027 — earlier than the initially announced February 20 and March 6 dates.
Speaking at the town hall, Amupitan explained that the mock presidential exercise would allow the commission to thoroughly test its technological infrastructure before deployment.
“Elections anywhere in the world are now technology-driven. But before deploying any technology, it must be properly tested,” he said.
Reflecting on the 2023 polls, he noted that while the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System was successfully piloted during off-cycle governorship elections in states like Osun and Ekiti, it was not stress-tested on a nationwide scale before the presidential election, which involved simultaneous interstate transmission.
“One of the steps we are taking before 2027 is to conduct a mock presidential election to ensure that interstate transmission of results will not fail,” he stated.
Amupitan expressed confidence that the technical glitches experienced during the 2023 presidential election would not recur, insisting that the commission had addressed the challenges.
“The glitch has been eliminated. By God’s grace, it will not resurface,” he said, adding that aside from isolated delays, INEC did not experience widespread transmission failures in subsequent elections, including the FCT polls.
He clarified that provisions in the Electoral Act allowing alternative methods of collation were merely safeguards in case of system failure, not a replacement for electronic transmission.
“Our determination is that the system will not fail. The legal provision is simply a safety measure,” he explained.
Reaffirming INEC’s broader commitment to credible elections, Amupitan said the commission was working to strengthen logistics and result management — two areas he identified as critical operational challenges. According to him, network availability remains the major hurdle, rather than the concept of electronic transmission itself.
“By the grace of God, the 2027 election will be the best Nigeria has ever had,” he said. “We may not achieve absolute perfection, but we are committed to delivering a near-perfect process that guarantees legitimacy and public confidence.”
The renewed assurances come amid ongoing political debate following President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the amended Electoral Act 2026, recently passed by the National Assembly. The amendment clarifies the legal framework for transmitting election results, authorising both electronic and manual methods depending on infrastructure and operational realities.
While supporters have described the hybrid model as pragmatic, critics warn that it could weaken transparency if not carefully implemented.
Opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, have called on the National Assembly to urgently revisit the law, arguing that certain provisions could undermine public trust ahead of the 2027 elections.