The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has defended the use of artificial intelligence in election management, saying the technology is not a threat to democracy despite its potential misuse by malicious actors seeking to undermine electoral integrity.

Amupitan said AI could improve electoral administration through efficient voter registration, logistics planning, data analysis and management of large voter databases, noting that electoral management bodies worldwide have already adopted AI-assisted processes to improve administrative efficiency and strengthen election planning.

The INEC chairman spoke on Monday at The Beyond the Ballot Summit in Abuja, a two-day national summit on electoral information integrity titled “Beyond the Ballot,” convened by the International Press Centre, the Centre for Media and Society and Development Alternatives Incorporated under the European Union’s democratic governance support programme.

Speaking at the summit, Amupitan declared that “Artificial Intelligence, AI, is not an enemy of democracy,” but expressed concern over the growing accessibility of generative AI tools, warning that the rabid democratisation of such models has dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for malicious actors to create deceptive content.

He noted that capacities that previously required state-level intelligence resources such as high-quality voice cloning of public figures and hyper-realistic synthesis of election officials making false announcements are now accessible at negligible cost, making it easier to manipulate voters and spread disinformation ahead of the 2027 polls.

The INEC chairman stressed that while algorithms can predict patterns, optimise routes and detect duplicate registrations, critical decisions such as voter accreditation, collation of results and declaration of outcomes must remain under human supervision and within the law, adding that INEC recently announced plans to integrate AI auditing tools into its system.

His remarks come amid preparations for the 2027 general election scheduled for January 16, 2027, with the commission saying it has established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence unit within its ICT Directorate to use digital monitoring tools, deepfake detection software and data analytics to protect the electoral process while ensuring that Nigerians, not algorithms, decide the outcome.