<p>By Prevail Inegbenose</p>
<p><strong>Six civil society organisations have challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide verifiable evidence of its preparedness for the 2027 general election, particularly the readiness of its election technology and result management systems.</strong></p><p class="ari-link"><strong>Read also:</strong> <a href="https://sparknewsdaily.com.ng/nobody-should-be-deceived-nigerians-warned-against-finland-job-scam/">&#8216;Nobody should be deceived&#8217;, Nigerians Warned Against Finland Job Scam</a></p>
<p>The organisations made the demand in an open memorandum to election stakeholders on Friday in Abuja, urging INEC to back its assurances of preparedness with clear, measurable and verifiable evidence ahead of the 2027 general election.</p>
<p>The memorandum issued by the EU Funded Programme “Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) was endorsed by the Centre for Media and Society, International Press Centre, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa, The Kukah Centre and Yiaga Africa.</p>
<p>With the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, the groups called on INEC to publish a dated readiness dashboard covering election funding, procurement, delivery and storage of electoral materials, distribution arrangements and contingency plans for areas affected by insecurity or infrastructure challenges.</p>
<p>They also urged the Commission to disclose the number and requirements of election personnel, training schedules, deployment plans and welfare arrangements for ad hoc staff, while filling vacancies in key leadership and technical positions early enough to safeguard institutional capacity.</p>
<p><strong>Focus on BVAS, IReV</strong></p>
<p>The organisations placed particular emphasis on election technology, calling for clear explanations of how the Electoral Act 2026 and INEC’s regulations and guidelines will govern voter accreditation, polling-unit result management, collation and publication of results, including the electronic Form EC8A.</p>
<p>They demanded stress tests of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV), with the results made available for public scrutiny.</p>
<p>The groups also called for clearly defined fallback procedures in the event of technological failures, as well as audit trails showing how corrections or delayed uploads of results are handled.</p>
<p>Referring to the result-upload challenges recorded during the 2023 general election, the organisations specifically asked INEC to publish verifiable evidence demonstrating that the problem has been addressed.</p>
<p>They further called for the claimed improvements to be independently observed during INEC’s planned mock accreditation exercise.</p><p class="ari-link"><strong>Read also:</strong> <a href="https://sparknewsdaily.com.ng/nollywood-mourns-as-olu-jacobs-dies-at-84/">Nollywood Mourns as Olu Jacobs Dies at 84</a></p></p>
<p><strong>PVC Collection, Security</strong></p>
<p>The CSOs urged INEC to publish detailed guidelines for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards, including the logistics and personnel arrangements required to prevent delays and possible disenfranchisement.</p>
<p>They also asked the Commission to clarify the arrangements for downloadable voter cards and provide clear guidance on their use during the general election.</p>
<p>On election security, the organisations called on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to publish a coordinated election-security framework covering threat assessments, risk mitigation, command responsibilities, rules of engagement, protection of vulnerable communities and rapid-response mechanisms.</p>
<p>They stressed that security personnel must remain impartial and must not be deployed as instruments of partisan coercion.</p>
<p><strong>Parties, Media, Judiciary Get Tasks</strong></p>
<p>Political parties and candidates were urged to reject hate speech, ethnic and religious incitement, threats, coercion, vote buying and obstruction of lawful political activities.</p>
<p>The groups also cautioned against the use of incumbency advantages to restrict opposition parties’ access to campaign venues, outdoor advertising and other shared resources, insisting that access should be based on transparent and non-discriminatory rules.</p>
<p>The media was urged to provide equitable and issue-based coverage, distinguish journalism from sponsored content, verify viral claims before amplification and prominently correct errors.</p>
<p>Religious and community leaders were encouraged to reject violence, exclusion and collective blame, while the judiciary was urged to resolve election disputes within stipulated timelines and promptly publish reasoned decisions.</p>
<p>The organisations also acknowledged the responsibilities of civil society, calling for stronger coordination of election observation and civic education, verification of claims before advocacy and consistent, independent reporting.</p>
<p class="ari-link"><strong>Read also:</strong> <a href="https://sparknewsdaily.com.ng/tcn-tower-collapse-disrupts-power-supply-to-keffi-akwanga-feeders/">TCN Tower Collapse Disrupts Power Supply to Keffi, Akwanga Feeders</a></p><p>“We must demand from ourselves the same transparency, fairness and accountability we demand from public institutions,” the memorandum stated.</p>
<p>The groups said the credibility of the 2027 elections would depend significantly on decisions and preparations taken before polling day, urging all institutions involved in the electoral process to clearly state what they would do, when they would do it and how Nigerians could independently assess their progress.</p>

2027: CSOs Demand Proof of INEC Readiness, Technology Fixes Ahead of Polls
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