…Demand BVAS, IReV Tests Ahead Of 2027 Polls
Six civil society organisations have challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission to provide verifiable evidence that its election technology, result management systems and operational structures are ready for the 2027 general elections.
The organisations, in an open memorandum ahead of INEC’s World Press Conference on its preparations for the polls, specifically demanded evidence that the result-upload problems recorded during the 2023 elections had been resolved.
They also called for independent and publicly verifiable testing of the Commission’s major election technologies, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing portal.
The memorandum was endorsed by the Centre for Media and Society, International Press Centre, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa, The Kukah Centre and Yiaga Africa.
With the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, the groups said INEC should use the period before the polls to provide Nigerians with measurable evidence of preparedness rather than general assurances.
“INEC must move beyond general assurances and provide regular, verifiable evidence of operational readiness,” the organisations said.
They urged the Commission to publish a dated readiness dashboard detailing election funding, procurement milestones, delivery and storage of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, distribution plans and contingency arrangements for areas affected by insecurity or infrastructure challenges.
The CSOs also demanded details of INEC’s recruitment requirements, the number of personnel to be engaged, training schedules, deployment plans and welfare arrangements for ad hoc election workers.
They further called for vacant leadership and technical positions to be filled early to safeguard the Commission’s institutional capacity and operational continuity.
The organisations identified election technology as a major area requiring greater transparency from INEC.
They asked the Commission to explain how the Electoral Act 2026, alongside its regulations and guidelines, would govern voter accreditation, polling-unit result management, collation and publication of results, including the electronic Form EC8A.
The groups also demanded stress tests of BVAS and IReV, with the results of such exercises made public.
They said INEC should disclose fallback procedures for technology failures and establish clear audit trails for corrections or delayed uploads of election results.
Referring to the challenges encountered with result uploads during the 2023 general election, the organisations urged INEC to “publish verifiable evidence” that the problem had been rectified.
They added that the claimed improvements should be subjected to further verification by election observers during INEC’s planned mock accreditation exercise.
The groups also called for the publication of clear guidelines on the collection of Permanent Voter Cards, including the logistics and personnel that would be deployed to prevent delays and possible disenfranchisement.
They urged INEC to clarify the arrangements for downloadable voter cards and provide clear guidance on their applicability during the 2027 elections.
The memorandum also outlined responsibilities for political parties and candidates, security agencies, the media, judiciary, community leaders and civil society organisations.
The groups urged political parties and candidates to reject hate speech, ethnic and religious incitement, threats, coercion, vote buying and obstruction of lawful political activities.
They also cautioned against the use of incumbency advantages to restrict opposition parties’ access to campaign venues, outdoor advertising spaces and other shared resources.
According to the organisations, access to such resources should be governed by transparent and non-discriminatory rules applicable to all parties and candidates.
The organisations called on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to publish a coordinated election-security framework covering threat assessments, risk mitigation measures, command responsibilities, rules of engagement, protection of vulnerable communities and rapid-response and complaints procedures.
They stressed that security personnel must operate impartially and should not be used as instruments of partisan coercion.
The media, the groups said, should provide equitable and issue-based coverage, distinguish journalism from sponsored content, verify viral claims before amplification and prominently correct errors.
They urged religious and community leaders to reject violence, exclusion and collective blame, while calling on the judiciary to resolve election disputes within stipulated timelines and promptly publish reasoned decisions.
The organisations also acknowledged responsibilities within the civil society sector, urging CSOs to improve coordination of election observation and civic education, verify claims before advocacy and maintain independence and consistency in their reporting.
“We must demand from ourselves the same transparency, fairness and accountability we demand from public institutions,” the memorandum said.
The groups said the credibility of the 2027 elections would depend substantially on decisions and preparations taken before polling day.
They therefore called on all institutions involved in the electoral process to clearly state what they would do, when they would do it and how Nigerians could assess their progress.