INEC and Yiaga Africa Push for AI Safeguards in Elections

Yiaga Africa, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and other stakeholders have urged for enhanced safeguards against the potential misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) in Nigeria's 2027 general elections. This call was made in a communiqué issued following the 2026 AI and Democracy Forum, which took place in Abuja from October 14 to 16.

The forum included various participants such as electoral bodies, technology companies, security institutions, civil society organizations, journalists, and policymakers. The communiqué recommended that INEC develop an election-specific AI governance framework that outlines the technology's applications, risks, data sources, safeguards, and vendor responsibilities.

It also called for a transparent protocol for managing election results, including the handling of physical Form EC8A and AI-assisted data extraction. The importance of human verification and adherence to legal procedures was emphasized, particularly to protect voting rights and public confidence.

Recommendations included independent pre-election audits and human investigations triggered by AI-generated alerts regarding voter registrations or results anomalies.