Civil society organisations (CSOs) have asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publicly demonstrate that its technology and operational systems are ready for the 2027 general elections.
The demand came ahead of INEC’s World Press Conference on its preparations for the polls, with the groups seeking independent verification that problems associated with electronic result uploads during the 2023 elections have been addressed.
In a memorandum endorsed by the Centre for Media and Society, International Press Centre, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa, The Kukah Centre and Yiaga Africa, the CSOs called for stress tests of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal.
They urged INEC to make the results of the tests public and independently verifiable rather than relying solely on assurances about its preparedness.
The organisations also asked the commission to publish a dated readiness dashboard covering funding, procurement, election materials, recruitment and training of personnel, as well as contingency arrangements for areas affected by insecurity and poor infrastructure.
The groups further called for clear regulations on the implementation of the Electoral Act 2026, particularly provisions relating to voter accreditation, polling-unit results, collation and electronic publication.
They also want INEC to provide transparent audit trails and fallback procedures for technology failures, corrections and delayed uploads.
Speaking on the concerns, Yiaga Africa Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, has previously stressed that election readiness should cover technology, security, logistics and voter access, particularly in communities affected by displacement and insecurity.
The CSOs also urged political parties and candidates to reject vote buying, intimidation, hate speech and ethnic or religious incitement.
They called on security agencies to make public a coordinated election-security plan and urged the media, judiciary, community leaders and civil society to prepare for their respective roles ahead of the polls.
The coalition said preparations before election day would be critical to public confidence in the 2027 electoral process.
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