INEC Says It Has Addressed 2023 Election Challenges Ahead of 2027 Polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has introduced improvements to its electoral processes to address challenges that undermined public confidence in the 2023 presidential election ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The commission disclosed this on Thursday during the second stakeholders’ roundtable on voter education and youth participation organised by Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) under its YERP-Naija project in Abuja.

INEC’s Deputy Director of Voter Education, Paula Iwenjiora, who represented the Director of Voter Education, Etta-Messi, acknowledged that the commission’s handling of the 2023 presidential election contributed to the decline in public trust.

She attributed part of the problem to heavy traffic on INEC’s website during the presidential election, saying the commission subsequently made improvements ahead of the governorship elections.

“I don’t blame people because we have deficit trust because of what happened the last time. I know everybody blames INEC. It’s okay to blame us, as it were, because we promised; it looks as if we failed in our promise,” Iwenjiora said.

She, however, urged Nigerians not to lose confidence in the electoral process, expressing optimism about the efforts of the commission’s current leadership under its chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan.

Iwenjiora said INEC had expanded its voter education activities through campus debates and engagements with civil society organisations, religious groups and community-level organisations. She added that partnerships with development organisations were necessary to extend voter education to communities across the country.

Appealing particularly to young Nigerians, the INEC official said participation in elections required more than online discussions, urging eligible voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and turn out on election day.

“Votes cannot be counted on social media. Your PVCs cannot be counted on social media. If you don’t come out as a youth, if you’re not interested, that’s your future you’re giving over to somebody else,” she said.

She also encouraged young people to join political parties, express their views and participate in decisions affecting their communities, warning that staying away from political engagement could limit their representation.

On electoral security, Iwenjiora said INEC was working with security agencies, including the police, military and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, through an inter-agency arrangement. She explained that the coordination covered different levels of the country, including local government areas and polling units.

She further disclosed that the commission planned to deploy technology, including drones, to help identify electoral offences such as vote-buying. According to her, the technology would provide visual evidence of suspected offenders.

Addressing concerns about PVC collection, Iwenjiora said the cards were being distributed in batches, particularly those belonging to newly registered voters and people who registered during previous exercises. She urged registrants who had not received their cards at their local government offices to continue checking with INEC.

Earlier, KDI Executive Director, Bukola Idowu, said credible elections depended on strong institutions and active citizen participation, particularly among young people.

He identified declining trust in institutions, misinformation, economic pressures, electoral insecurity and inadequate voter education as factors discouraging youth participation.

Idowu urged young Nigerians to remain engaged despite their frustrations, encouraging them to get informed, collect their PVCs, demand accountability and vote peacefully.

Also speaking, the Resident Country Director of the National Democratic Institute in Nigeria, Francis Madugu, said the YERP-Naija initiative, launched in 2024, was designed to sustain electoral engagement between the 2023 and 2027 election cycles.

He disclosed that the programme had recruited and virtually trained youth volunteers across all 109 senatorial districts to conduct peer-to-peer voter education campaigns across the 774 local government areas, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Citing the 2023 presidential election, Madugu said approximately 27 per cent of registered voters participated, describing the turnout as a concern for Nigeria’s democratic development.

He warned that young people who failed to participate in elections risked weakening their collective influence over government policies and political priorities.