INEC to Hold Mock Election Nationwide November 28
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Saturday, November 28, 2026, for a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, announced the exercise on Thursday in London while speaking at Chatham House during a high-level dialogue organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI).
The dialogue was held under the theme, "Nigeria's 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot."
According to Amupitan, the November 28 exercise will simulate the presidential election across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It will test the commission's upgraded Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), voter accreditation process, and electronic transmission of results.
"On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right," Amupitan said.
He also unveiled new technical safeguards designed to prevent inaccurate figures, including results showing over-voting, from being uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Amupitan said INEC had identified polling units as a major source of result-management problems in previous elections, and is now introducing additional checks to ensure results are properly verified before transmission.
The INEC boss admitted that the 2023 general elections significantly eroded public confidence in the commission. He said INEC has used subsequent off-cycle elections to identify operational weaknesses and is now working to rebuild Nigerians' trust before the 2027 polls.
He added that rather than introduce an entirely new system, the commission opted to upgrade its existing technology, given the limited time before the elections.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
