INEC, Meta, Rise Networks Launch Ai Hackathon To Strengthen 2027 Elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Meta, Rise Networks and other technology and civil society organisations have launched a national artificial intelligence innovation competition aimed at strengthening electoral integrity, combating misinformation and deepening democratic participation ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

The initiative, known as the #AI4Elections Hackathon, is designed to mobilise Nigerian developers, researchers, students, technology entrepreneurs, electoral experts and civic innovators to develop practical technology solutions to challenges confronting the country’s electoral system.

The programme comes at a critical period in Nigeria’s democratic journey, with concerns over electoral transparency, public confidence in the voters’ register, misinformation, cybersecurity and the credibility of election administration featuring prominently in preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The initiative is expected to explore how artificial intelligence can help citizens obtain reliable electoral information, enable election stakeholders to make better-informed decisions, improve election observation and strengthen accountability throughout the electoral process.

With INEC participating alongside major technology companies and civil society organisations, the organisers hope to create a collaborative platform through which technological innovation can contribute to more credible, transparent, inclusive and people-centred elections.

According to Dr Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji of Rise Networks, the programme builds on lessons from Run-Am, an artificial intelligence-powered misinformation detection and fact-checking mobile application developed for Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.

Rise Networks is spearheading the initiative in collaboration with INEC, Meta, Google, Microsoft, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) and other institutional partners.

The organisers said the hackathon would focus on practical solutions capable of addressing emerging electoral challenges rather than ideas that remain at the conceptual stage.

Under the programme, participants are expected to develop functional technological tools that can be tested for their potential contribution to the electoral process.

Five major areas will guide the competition: trustworthy electoral information, data-driven decision-making, inclusive and multilingual civic technology, electoral cybersecurity and election observation.

The organisers believe these areas offer opportunities for Nigerian innovators to apply artificial intelligence to problems ranging from the circulation of false election claims to the accessibility of electoral information for citizens who communicate in different Nigerian languages or face barriers to digital participation.

N10 Million Prize Pool For Innovators

The competition comes with a total cash prize pool of N10 million, alongside cloud computing credits, laptops and other technology resources intended to support participants and promising projects.

Eligible Nigerians aged 18 and above can participate individually or in teams of up to four members.

Applications opened on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and will close on November 12, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. West African Time.

The programme is scheduled to culminate in a national innovation showcase in Lagos on December 16, 2026, where participants are expected to present their solutions and demonstrate their practical applications.

Promising innovations will subsequently receive technical support, providing an opportunity for selected projects to develop beyond the competition and potentially contribute to Nigeria’s electoral technology ecosystem.

Interested applicants can obtain further information and application guidelines through the official programme website, ai4elections.risenetworks.org.

The organisers have stressed that the initiative is nonpartisan and will prioritise responsible artificial intelligence, data privacy, human oversight and compliance with electoral laws.

These safeguards are particularly important because electoral technology operates in a sensitive environment in which errors, manipulation or unauthorised access to personal information could undermine public confidence and potentially affect citizens’ participation in elections.

Five Areas Of Electoral Innovation

One of the central objectives of the hackathon is to develop tools that can help Nigerians distinguish credible electoral information from falsehoods circulated through social media platforms, messaging applications and other digital channels.

Election periods frequently generate intense information flows, including misleading claims about candidates, voting procedures, election dates, polling locations and the activities of electoral authorities.

Artificial intelligence could help identify suspicious patterns, flag potentially manipulated content and direct users towards verified information. Such tools, however, would need appropriate human oversight to avoid incorrectly labelling legitimate political expression or criticism as misinformation.

The second area, data-driven decision-making, is intended to explore how electoral information can be analysed to identify patterns, improve planning and support evidence-based interventions.

Depending on the data available and the safeguards adopted, such tools could help researchers and authorised stakeholders analyse participation trends, identify gaps in voter education and assess accessibility challenges.

Inclusive and multilingual civic technology is another important component of the programme.

Nigeria’s linguistic and cultural diversity presents a significant challenge for nationwide voter education. Electoral information that is readily understood by English-speaking citizens may not be equally accessible to people who primarily communicate in local languages.

Artificial intelligence tools capable of translating, explaining and distributing verified electoral information in multiple Nigerian languages could help bridge this gap.

Such solutions would need to be tested carefully to ensure that translations are accurate, culturally appropriate and consistent with official electoral guidance.

The fourth area, electoral cybersecurity, addresses the need to protect digital systems and information from unauthorised access, manipulation and disruption.

As election-related communication and administrative processes increasingly interact with digital platforms, cybersecurity threats can create risks for electoral institutions, political organisations, journalists and voters.

Innovators could explore tools for identifying suspicious activity, detecting digital threats and improving security awareness. Any solutions intended for use within official electoral infrastructure would require rigorous testing, authorisation and independent security assessment.

The fifth area, election observation, could provide opportunities for technology to improve the collection, verification and analysis of information by accredited observers and civil society organisations.

For example, properly designed tools could help organise observer reports, identify patterns across polling locations and support the verification of incidents requiring further investigation.

However, automated systems should not be treated as substitutes for human verification, particularly where allegations of electoral misconduct could have legal or political consequences.

Lessons From Run-Am And The 2023 Elections

The organisers’ decision to build on the experience of Run-Am reflects growing recognition of the role digital tools can play in Nigeria’s electoral environment.

The 2023 general elections demonstrated the importance of timely, accurate and accessible information in a highly competitive political atmosphere.

Social media platforms provided opportunities for citizens, journalists and election observers to share updates, but they also created channels through which misleading claims could spread rapidly.

Fact-checking applications and other digital verification tools can help address these challenges by enabling users to examine claims and locate reliable information.

Nevertheless, technology alone cannot eliminate electoral misinformation. The effectiveness of such tools depends on the quality of the information available to them, their ability to recognise Nigerian political and linguistic contexts, and the willingness of users to consult verified sources.

The #AI4Elections Hackathon therefore presents an opportunity to develop solutions that reflect Nigeria’s specific democratic and technological circumstances rather than simply importing systems designed for other countries.

The participation of international technology companies alongside Nigerian innovators could also create opportunities for technical collaboration, access to computing resources and the development of solutions capable of operating at scale.

For local developers and technology entrepreneurs, the programme could provide exposure to electoral technology, responsible AI development and civic innovation, while potentially creating pathways for promising products to attract further investment and institutional partnerships.

Transparency Challenge Over Preliminary Voters’ Register

The launch of the initiative coincides with renewed controversy over the publication and public accessibility of the preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded that INEC immediately publish the register online, arguing that the reported inability of citizens to inspect the document during the announced scrutiny period raises questions about transparency and public confidence.

In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said INEC had announced more than 103 million registered voters but that Nigerians who visited the commission’s portal during the designated period were unable to inspect the register.

He argued that announcing the total number of registered voters was not sufficient because citizens needed access to the actual register to determine whether their names had been included correctly and whether errors or irregularities existed.

Atiku also questioned the relationship between INEC’s reported statements about the timing of the display exercise and the subsequent announcement of a period running from October 9 to 15.

He called on the commission to provide the relevant dates, links and records of access to clarify when and where the register had been made available.

The former vice-president further raised concerns about Section 63(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which he cited in connection with the counting of a ballot paper without the commission’s official mark where a returning officer is satisfied that it originated from a book supplied to the polling unit.

Atiku argued that the provision made it necessary to establish clear safeguards for verifying ballot-paper authenticity and resolving disputes over their origin.

He also called for disclosure of the companies awarded contracts to print sensitive election materials, saying inquiries on the matter had yet to receive a response from INEC.

The allegations and demands form part of a wider debate over the transparency of election preparations. INEC’s position and any documentary evidence it provides on the publication of the register will be important in determining the facts surrounding the dispute.

Civic Group Threatens Court Action

The Concerned Citizens for Nigerian Democracy (CCND) has also called on INEC to publish the preliminary voters’ register online by Friday, October 30, warning that it would consider legal action if the commission failed to comply.

In a Freedom of Information request addressed to INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, the group argued that Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 required publication of the register both at registration areas and on the commission’s official website.

CCND said the deadline for publication, calculated on the basis of the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027, was October 18.

The group said it would approach the Federal High Court for an order of mandamus compelling publication and an extension of the period for claims and objections if INEC did not make the register available by its stated deadline.

According to CCND, it checked the commission’s voter registration website, cvr.inecnigeria.org, on October 21 and encountered a message stating that the service was temporarily unavailable. The group said it could neither view nor download the preliminary register.

It also referred to reports that voters at physical display centres could check only their individual names upon request, a process it argued would make it difficult to identify broader irregularities.

The group maintained that public access was essential to enable citizens, political parties and election observers to identify possible duplicate entries, deceased persons remaining on the register, unlawful transfers and other errors.

It further recalled that INEC had published the voters’ register online ahead of the 2023 general elections, allowing a wider range of stakeholders to scrutinise the information.

CCND argued that without effective access to the preliminary register, the statutory period for claims and objections risked losing much of its practical value.

The group’s proposed legal action had not, in the supplied report, been established as a filed court case or a judicial determination of INEC’s compliance.

Can Artificial Intelligence Restore Public Confidence?

The controversy over the voters’ register illustrates both the potential and the limitations of technology in strengthening elections.

Artificial intelligence can help detect anomalies in large datasets, identify patterns that deserve investigation and make electoral information more accessible. However, the usefulness of such systems depends on whether the underlying data is available, sufficiently accurate and lawfully accessible.

A sophisticated application cannot independently resolve a dispute over a register that citizens cannot inspect. Nor can an algorithm replace INEC’s statutory responsibilities to publish electoral information, explain its procedures and respond to legitimate questions from voters and political stakeholders.

Indeed, one of the most valuable applications of electoral technology could be to help citizens and authorised observers scrutinise publicly available information, report discrepancies and track whether complaints receive appropriate attention.

Any such initiative must be designed around clear rules governing access to data, privacy protection, independent verification and the prevention of unauthorised disclosure of sensitive personal information.

The organisers’ emphasis on responsible AI and human oversight is therefore significant. Electoral innovation must strengthen accountability without exposing voters to privacy violations, political profiling or automated decisions that cannot be challenged.

It is equally important that technology should not be used to suppress lawful political speech under the guise of combating misinformation. Transparent procedures for flagging, reviewing and correcting disputed content would help maintain public confidence in the tools.

A Test Of Collaboration Ahead Of 2027

The #AI4Elections Hackathon represents an opportunity for Nigeria to draw on its technology community in addressing practical democratic challenges before the next general elections.

Its success, however, will depend on more than the number of participants, the size of the prize pool or the sophistication of the prototypes presented at the December showcase.

The real test will be whether promising innovations can be independently assessed, made accessible to intended users and deployed responsibly where they can make a measurable difference.

INEC’s involvement also creates an opportunity to connect innovation with the practical needs of election administration. Clear technical requirements, appropriate access to lawful datasets and transparent evaluation procedures could help innovators develop useful tools while respecting the commission’s institutional responsibilities.

At the same time, public confidence will require visible transparency in the handling of fundamental electoral information, including the voters’ register.

The demands by Atiku and CCND underline the importance of resolving questions about access to the register through verifiable information, timely explanations and compliance with applicable law.

As Nigeria moves towards the 2027 elections, artificial intelligence could strengthen fact-checking, improve voter education, support election observation and help identify digital threats. But technology will be most effective when it complements transparent institutions, enforceable rules and the active participation of citizens.

Ultimately, the credibility of an election cannot be secured by artificial intelligence alone. It rests on whether voters can verify their registration, obtain trustworthy information, participate without discrimination and have confidence that their votes will be properly counted.

The challenge before the #AI4Elections partners is to turn innovation into practical public value, ensuring that technology becomes an instrument for greater transparency and democratic participation rather than a substitute for institutional accountability.