Obidient Movement has questioned the Independent National Electoral Commission’s planned use of Artificial Intelligence in the 2027 general elections, calling for greater transparency, independent testing and safeguards before the technology is expanded.
The movement’s National Coordinator, Yunusa Tanko, raised the concerns in a statement following INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan’s disclosure that the commission had begun using AI tools within its results management process.
Amupitan said INEC was deploying AI to identify discrepancies and administrative errors in election result records before final validation. He also disclosed that the commission had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and developed an AI Roadmap and Governance Framework.
According to the INEC chairman, the framework is built around human oversight, transparency and accountability, data protection, cybersecurity and public trust. He stressed that AI would support election officials rather than replace human decision-making, with automated checks remaining subject to human auditing and legal verification.
INEC is also concerned about the growing use of AI to produce election-related disinformation. Amupitan warned that fake result sheets, cloned voices, fabricated videos and forged official documents could be created quickly and potentially undermine public confidence in genuine election results.
Tanko, however, argued that the commission should first provide more details about how the technology would operate, the specific electoral problems it is designed to address and the safeguards that would prevent misuse.
The Obidient Movement also raised questions about existing issues surrounding result transmission and electoral transparency. Tanko argued that introducing new technology would not by itself resolve institutional concerns unless there were adequate accountability mechanisms.
The movement cited a recent analysis by Mundx Analytics examining metadata from 164,659 accessible polling-unit result records from the 2023 presidential election. Mundx reported that 52,947 records carried metadata associated with the EMP2920/BVAS device, while 50,452 carried metadata from another identifiable device model. However, the organisation cautioned that the latter category was not equivalent to confirmed personal-phone uploads because it included other devices and could reflect rephotographed images or altered metadata.
Mundx also noted that EXIF metadata identifies the camera associated with an image but does not establish who owned the device or which device transmitted the file to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.
Against this background, the Obidient Movement has called on INEC to publish its comprehensive 2027 technology and election plan, including details of the systems, procedures and safeguards it intends to use.
The group also wants an independent audit of INEC’s electoral technology, with the findings and any proposed corrective measures made available to the public.
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Tanko further called for transparent and verifiable transmission of results, arguing that votes recorded at polling units should be accurately reflected through the final stages of the electoral process.
The movement also urged INEC to subject its proposed AI systems to independent testing and public scrutiny before the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, INEC has maintained that its AI strategy is being developed around human control, accountability, data protection and cybersecurity. The commission has also held discussions with technology companies including Microsoft and Google, as well as the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, over cybersecurity and responsible AI integration.
The debate comes as INEC intensifies preparations for the 2027 elections, with the commission seeking to use AI both to support election-result management and to counter increasingly sophisticated AI-generated electoral misinformation.