INEC Flags Insecurity, Funding and Vote Buying as Major Concerns Ahead of 2027 Polls
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified insecurity, inadequate funding and emerging forms of vote buying as major concerns ahead of the January and February 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, raised the concerns on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State, on the sidelines of the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, where he stressed the need for stronger collaboration between the commission and security agencies. (The Nation Online)
Amupitan said insecurity could prevent eligible Nigerians from participating in the elections, warning that violence in some parts of the country remained a major source of possible voter disenfranchisement.
“It’s a major source of concern for us. That can be a source of disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and we don’t want any Nigerian to be disenfranchised,” he said.
He said INEC was working with the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser and other security agencies to develop strategies for conducting elections in volatile areas. He also said the commission would convene the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to address security challenges ahead of the polls. (Global Upfront Newspapers)
The INEC chairman also raised concerns over vote buying, saying politicians were adopting new methods while the practice was increasingly taking place away from polling units.
According to him, intelligence gathering would be crucial to detecting and stopping such activities, while INEC was working towards a broader task force involving the Attorney General of the Federation, the Ministry of Justice, security agencies and other relevant institutions.
Amupitan noted that INEC lacked the powers to arrest or investigate offenders, stressing that enforcement remained the responsibility of the relevant security agencies.
On funding, the INEC chairman said adequate and sustained financial support was critical to providing the security, personnel and logistics required for the elections. He noted that the commission’s responsibilities extended from voter registration and party monitoring to the conduct of presidential, National Assembly, governorship and State House of Assembly elections. (The Nigerian Observer)
He also said INEC had drawn lessons from recent off cycle elections and would apply them to the preparation for the 2027 polls, particularly in the areas of intelligence gathering, logistics and inter agency coordination.
On disputes arising from political party primaries, Amupitan said matters within the jurisdiction of the courts would be resolved through litigation, stressing that pending cases would not prevent INEC from conducting the 2027 elections. He said the commission would abide by any final judicial decisions. (TheCable)
The INEC chairman further urged political parties to make their campaigns issue based rather than personality driven, while discouraging campaigns of calumny and denigration.
He said INEC remained committed to working with law enforcement agencies to ensure that electoral offences were investigated and prosecuted, while also calling for professional neutrality and stronger cooperation among security agencies ahead of the elections.