Nigeria’s election body plans mock presidential poll to test technology

Nigeria’s electoral umpire is considering a full systems audit and a mock presidential election to prevent a repeat of the technical failures that hit the 2023 polls.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, announced the proposed plans on Thursday during a meeting with the outgoing British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard Montgomery, in Abuja.

The move follows widespread public concern over the failure of INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to upload presidential polling results in real-time during the last general election.

“We are looking at the possibility of having an audit of all our systems ahead of the election and also conducting a mock presidential election,” Prof Amupitan said, stressing that the commission wants to test its readiness well before the actual 2027 vote.

Funding challenges

Although the proposed simulation and system audit are not currently funded in INEC’s existing budget, the chairman said the commission will find ways to implement them because of their value in restoring public trust.

The commission is also conducting a complete review of its cybersecurity architecture, which includes:

• Penetration testing: Simulating cyber-attacks to identify and fix security gaps.
• System redundancy: Setting up backup servers to keep voting and results platforms online.
• Disaster recovery: Establishing swift protocols to recover data if networks crash.

International support

The UK High Commissioner, Dr. Richard Montgomery, said his team is closely tracking Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 elections, as well as upcoming governorship polls in states like Osun.

Mr. Montgomery, who is set to complete his diplomatic tenure in Nigeria in six weeks, assured the commission that the strategic partnership between London and Abuja would continue under his successor.

INEC continues to work with international partners, including the UK government and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), to upgrade its voting software and train personnel.