INEC creates AI division to strengthen electoral credibility in Nigeria
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the creation of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division under its ICT Department. The decision stems from the increasing relevance of AI to elections across the world, with associated benefits such as data-driven decision making, risk detection and mitigation, and deepening voter services automation.
A statement released on Thursday by the National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Sam Olumekun, explained that the decision was taken at its regular meeting, which considered the increasing relevance of AI to elections and electoral activities in Nigeria and across the world.
While noting the significance of tech deployment in elections through AI, Olumekun asserted that the initiative will allow INEC to maximise existing technology investments through centralised AI governance. He added that it will also bring about risk management, voters’ engagement, and strengthen electoral credibility through predictive analytics, automation, and intelligent safeguards.
“(We want) to utilise its benefits for data-driven decision-making, risk detection and mitigation, deepening voter services automation and geo-spatial intelligence in support of logistic optimisation for better material distribution and polling unit allocation.”
The Chairman pointed out that while the development represents a significant step in the ongoing reform of the electoral process across areas that require administrative actions, it also places INEC at the forefront of AI capabilities towards the utilisation of its ICT infrastructure.
The creation of the AI Division comes after INEC participated in several continental conferences addressing the impact of AI on electoral processes. The Commission acknowledged the dual nature of AI by recognising both the risks it poses, such as the spread of misinformation and content manipulation, and the opportunities it presents.
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INEC and a record of failure in tech adoption
The latest tech adoption by INEC further brings to mind previous failures by the commission to effectively handle similar initiatives meant to strengthen electoral activities.
At the 2023 General Elections, the Commission introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which was meant to end the long wait for authentication at polling units. Unfortunately, it failed and raised serious questions on the credibility of the election results.
Before the election, the Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, and the then National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, pledged assurance that the BVAS would not only serve as a means of authentication but also the only means of instantly transmitting election results from the polling units straight to the IREV. The IREV will also serve as the last recourse in case of irregularities in results.
While many Nigerians thought the introduction of these technologies would signal the end of physical collation and transmission, BVAS failed woefully on election day, and INEC had to revert to manual collation and transmission that, in turn, opened the result up for manipulation.
Perhaps the Nigerian lawmakers foresaw this flaw as they proved to be the fiercest agitators against the electronic transmission of results when it was introduced in the amended Electoral Act 2022.
Upon its total rejection, the lawmakers accepted, but with a condition: that the power to decide if INEC should implement electronic transmission for any particular election should rest with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and, not surprisingly, the Nigerian lawmakers themselves. After a general outcry from Nigerians, the senate yielded and allowed the INEC full powers to decide on electronic verification and transmission, by any means it deems fit.
As these past incidents raise a huge question on INEC’s potential to effectively utilise the reformation technology brought to the digital world, its adoption of AI to bolster its preparation towards future elections serves as another test to present a responsive image to Nigerians. While the Commission had failed in the past, its decision to continue to embrace tech signals efforts to foreground a free and fair election in Nigeria.
