INEC to conduct mock election ahead of 2027 poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct a mock presidential poll ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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This will be used to test its result-transmission infrastructure and prevent a repeat of past technical setbacks.

INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Sunday at the Citizens’ Townhall on the Electoral Act 2026 in Abuja, where he assured Nigerians that the electoral body was determined to deliver what he described as the country’s best election yet.

The development comes as INEC recently revised the timetable for the 2027 general elections. The commission had earlier fixed the Presidential and National Assembly elections for February 20, 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections for March 6, 2027.

However, in a revised schedule, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are now slated for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.

Speaking at the town hall, Amupitan said the planned nationwide mock presidential exercise would test the commission’s infrastructure ahead of the polls.

“Election anywhere in the world is now about technology, but before deploying any technology, it is important to test it thoroughly

“So, my own audit of the 2023 election, while the BVAS was tested within the states for the Osun election, Ekiti election, however, when it came to the federal election, especially the presidential election, which became interstate, it was not properly tested.

“One of the things we are trying to do before the election is to have a mock presidential election, so that we are sure that this transmission across the state must not fail,” Amupitan said.