The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said one of the reasons it decided to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the conduct of the 2027 general elections is to resolve the problems associated with the result management system.
This is just as following the success of Run-Am, an AI-powered misinformation detection and fact-checking mobile app it developed for the 2023 Nigerian elections, Rise Networks, in collaboration with INEC, Google, Microsoft, Meta and other partners have launched the #AI4Elections Hackathon to support the 2027 electoral process.
INEC’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this Thursday at the launch of the #AI4Elections Hackathon, Elections Development Hub and Elections Community of Practice in Abuja.
Speaking at the launch, Prof. Amupitan, who was represented by the INEC’s Director of ICT, Dr. Lawrence Bayode, explained that ‘One problem that the commission has seen, observed and is trying to use AI to resolve is in the result management system. When the IRev was introduced shortly before the 2023 general elections, the commission decided it had to improve the system.
‘And then the elections came and went, and the commission observed that a lot of features that were not supposed to be on the IRev found their way to the IRev. For instance, you see the picture of the presiding officer, you see buildings, so going forward, the commission decided to use technology to improve the system to ensure that it is only the form EC8A that is seen on the IRev”, he stated.
He emphasised that “The future of Nigeria’s elections will not be determined by technology alone but by how responsibly we use technology to strengthen the process. AI is transforming nearly every sector of human endeavour and electoral administration cannot be an exception.
“The concern before us is no longer whether AI has a role to play in an election but how we can harness its potential without compromising the integrity, transparency and credibility of the electoral process. I therefore want to commend RiseNetworks and its partners for bringing together the electoral community, such as civil society and young innovators, through an AI#4Election Initiative.
“At INEC, we recognise that AI represents significant opportunities to improve electoral administration. The commission has already taken deliberate steps towards responsible AI adoption, including the establishment of an AI Division within the ICT department and the development of an AI framework to guide responsible application of AI in our operations”, he disclosed.
According to him, “The #AI4Election presents an opportunity to harness the creativity of young Nigerians in addressing real electoral challenges. We welcome the innovation that can improve voter education and enhance accessibility for PWDs, bridge language barriers, strengthen information integrity and make electoral information more accessible to citizens”.
Presenting the vision and scope of the #AI4Elections Hackathon, founder of RiseNetworks, Dr. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji said the #AI4Elections Hackathon is not intended to develop partisan campaign technology, influence voter preferences, or interfere with electoral administration.
“The programme operates on principles of non-partisanship, equal treatment, respect for electoral law, protection of personal information and human oversight. Unauthorised testing of live electoral systems or access to institutional infrastructure is strictly prohibited and winning the competition does not constitute approval for operational deployment. Any future institutional pilot or deployment remains subject to relevant legal, institutional, technical and security approvals”, she noted.
According to her, the programme, which will connect innovators, researchers, civil society and electoral stakeholders, is structured around three interconnected pillars: the #AI4Elections Hackathon, where participants design, develop and demonstrate solutions to electoral challenges; #AI4Elections Development Hub, which will support the further testing, refinement and development of promising solutions; and the #AI4Elections Community of Practice, which will connect participants, researchers, mentors, institutions and other stakeholders for continued learning, collaboration and knowledge-sharing beyond the Hackathon.
She said the competition will focus on five principal tracks, including AI and Trustworthy Electoral Information, Electoral Data Analysis, Operational Insights & Decision Support, Inclusive and Multilingual Electoral/Civic Technology, Electoral Cybersecurity and Resilience, Election Observation and Citizen Accountability and an optional Crosscutting Area in Climate Resilience and Environmental Innovation.
Participants may develop applications, software prototypes, AI-enabled tools and models, data-analysis pipelines, accessible civic technology, multilingual interfaces, open-source components and other technically credible solutions appropriate to their selected challenge area.
The #AI4Elections Hackathon, which opens on October 22nd and closes on November 12th, features a total ₦10 million cash prize pool across overall and special innovation awards, with the 1st Place Overall Champion to win ₦4,000,000, 2nd Place winner to receive ₦2,500,000 and the 3rd Place winner to receive ₦1,500,000. Four additional ₦500,000 Special Innovation Awards will recognize outstanding solutions in Research and Policy Innovation, Electoral and Civic Inclusion, Responsible AI and Safety and Cybersecurity and Resilience.
In her remarks at the occasion, the Head of Public Policy, Anglophone West Africa and Connectivity and Innovation Policy Manager, Africa at META, Dr. Sade Dada, said Nigeria was very important to META because if the country gets it right in elections, it will have a positive impact on the entire continent of Africa.
“Specifically, Nigeria matters so much, enormously to META. The 2027 elections matters far beyond Nigeria’s borders. If Nigeria gets it right on trustworthy information, the continent will learn from and, indeed, the world”, she stated.
She noted that “Elections are decided by voters and they decide based on what they believe. And what they believe depends on what they trust. I’m especially excited about the innovators that are going to be applying for this programme. META is here as a key innovative partner. Elections are one of the single most important civic moments – people come to WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, etc., to debate about their future”.
Mrs Dada disclosed that over the past decade, META has invested over $30bn dollars in safety and security. We have global elections in several operations; we have around 40 people who are working on security- removing content that is harmful, that interferes with people’s ability to vote; we remove viruses so that they don’t go viral.
Other partners include NITHUB at the University of Lagos, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), CLEEN Foundation, Tap Initiative for Citizens’ Development, International Press Centre (IPC), Legal Naija, Ahmadu Bello University and Federal University of Akure (FUTA), with support from the MacArthur Foundation and Luminate.
