INEC Faces Pressure Over Voter Register Irregularities

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is facing increasing pressure from political parties concerning its readiness for the 2027 elections, following the discovery of irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register, including suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs. This situation has raised concerns about the credibility of the electoral database and INEC's internal monitoring systems.

The preliminary voters’ register, uploaded on October 26, contains over 103.4 million registered voters, combining figures from the 2023 register and additional registrations. Dr Lawrence Bayode, INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, revealed that some registration officers misused their credentials to introduce irregular entries.

INEC has identified those responsible and is taking corrective measures before the final register is published on December 15, 2026. Political parties, including the Labour Party, have expressed varying views, with Labour Party's National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, calling the situation disturbing and urging INEC to restore public confidence, particularly with elections approaching.