INEC, Editors Discuss Election Trust, Misinformation Ahead of 2027

Iyobosa Uwugiaren, who attended the recent seminar organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Independent National Electoral Commission, examines the issues and concerns raised at the workshop. With the 2027 general elections only 100 days away, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have started confronting what many stakeholders in the democratic process described as one of the most difficult questions facing Nigeria's democracy: how can public confidence in elections be restored and sustained in an age of misinformation, political tension and declining institutional trust? That burning question dominated the strategic workshop for editors organised by the NGE in collaboration with INEC in Abuja recently. The meeting was more than another pre-election engagement between the electoral umpire and the media. It was an acknowledgement by both institutions that the credibility of an election is shaped long before voters arrive at polling units on the election day. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn For INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash O. Amupitan (SAN) the challenge is clear. Electoral integrity cannot be secured by the commission alone. It requires what he described as a partnership among electoral institutions, the media and civil society. "The ultimate arbiter of electoral integrity is public trust," the INEC chairman said. He argued that such trust cannot be constructed in isolation. His message was significant. Nigeria has witnessed elections in which legal and technological reforms were introduced with the promise of improving transparency, only for operational difficulties, disputed results and poor communication to undermine public confidence. The 2023 general election remains an important reference point. Technology, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), were expected to improve the credibility of the process. But technical and operational difficulties, especially concerning result transmission and publication, became major sources of controversy. That experience hangs over preparations for 2027. Therefore, Amupitan sought to reassure Nigerians that INEC is not merely preparing for another election but attempting to address weaknesses identified in previous exercises. According to him, the commission has introduced improvements to BVAS, acquired 57,000 new devices, strengthened result-management systems and deployed measures aimed at improving cybersecurity. There is also a renewed emphasis on online voter registration and printable voter cards. More than 10 million new voter registrations were recorded during the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, according to the commission. INEC said that the national register now contains more than 103 million voters following the completion of its biometric verification and clean-up processes. No doubt, the figures are impressive. But the real test is not the size of the register or the sophistication of the technology. The real test is whether Nigerians believe that the system will work when it matters most. That is where the relationship between INEC and the media becomes critical. The media remains one of the principal channels through which citizens understand elections. For millions of Nigerians, especially those who may not have direct access to electoral officials, newspapers, radio, television and digital platforms provide the information needed to understand registration, accreditation, voting procedures, results and electoral laws. The editor therefore occupies an influential position. Amupitan described editors as "the final filter" in an increasingly chaotic information environment. He urged newsrooms to prioritise fact-checking and verification, warning that fake results, manipulated videos, deepfakes and unverified reports could inflame tensions and delegitimise an otherwise credible election. There is li