The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has defended the use of artificial intelligence in election management, saying the technology could strengthen democracy if properly deployed.
Amupitan said AI could improve voter registration, logistics planning, data analysis and the management of large voter databases, while warning that its misuse could undermine public confidence in elections.
The INEC chairman spoke on Monday at The Beyond the Ballot Summit in Abuja, where he said electoral management bodies across the world were adopting AI-assisted processes to improve efficiency and election planning.
“Artificial Intelligence, AI, is not an enemy of democracy,” he said.
However, Amupitan expressed concern over the growing accessibility of generative AI tools, which he said could be exploited by malicious actors to manipulate voters and spread disinformation.
He warned that the technology had made it easier and cheaper to clone the voices of public figures and create realistic videos of election officials making false announcements.
According to him, such capabilities could be used to target vulnerabilities in the electoral process at critical periods.
His remarks come as INEC prepares to integrate AI into Nigeria’s electoral system ahead of the 2027 general election.
The planned adoption has heightened concerns about fabricated announcements, manipulated audio recordings and realistic videos capable of misleading voters, impersonating public officials and disrupting election administration.
The debate has also been fuelled by the discovery of suspicious photographs, including images believed to have been generated by AI, in INEC’s preliminary Register of Voters.
The photographs, which appeared in some voter records in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, raised questions about the integrity of the voter database and the processes used to capture and verify registration information.
INEC acknowledged the questionable records and said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the images.
The commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, said some of the AI-generated photographs were linked to irregularities allegedly introduced by registration officers with access to the system.
INEC has maintained that the register is preliminary and would undergo verification, data cleaning and correction before the final register is certified.
The commission said its adoption of AI would be guided by the need to strengthen the credibility, transparency and efficiency of the electoral process while addressing the risks of misinformation and digital manipulation.
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