INEC rules out inaccurate IReV uploads, sets November 28 mock election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set November 28, 2026, for a mock accreditation and voting exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections in Nigeria. The exercise, conducted across all states, aims to test upgrades to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and electronic results transmission. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, revealed this during a dialogue in London.

The commission has introduced safeguards to prevent inaccurate polling unit results and over-voting figures from being uploaded to the Result Viewing Portal. This move follows an audit that identified collation centres, not polling units, as the primary source of election result management issues. Amupitan emphasized that the commission chose to upgrade the existing electoral technology instead of introducing a new system due to the limited timeframe before the 2027 elections.

Concerns over BVAS malfunctions during the 2023 general elections led INEC to construct climate-controlled storage facilities, procure additional BVAS machines, and reduce the maximum number of registered voters per device. The mock exercise aims to ensure the effectiveness of the accreditation and electronic transmission systems before the actual polls.