BY AHMED AKANBI
Stakeholders have raised alarm over growing use of artificial intelligence to spread false information, create deepfake videos and manipulate voters ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Yiaga Africa, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) and international partners have called for stronger safeguards to prevent AI misuse from undermining election credibility.
The call was made at the AI and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, which examined opportunities and risks of AI in electoral processes.
Participants warned that though AI could improve access to information, voter education and civic participation, its misuse could distort political debates, spread false results and influence voters with misleading content.
Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said the concern is critical given lingering distrust after controversies over technology deployment in the 2023 polls.
He said a recent national voting-intention survey by Yiaga Africa showed Nigerians still doubt whether the process is credible and whether their votes will count in 2027.
According to him, rebuilding public confidence requires more than new technology, stressing that integrity of those managing electoral systems matters.
He said individuals with access to AI-powered systems could manipulate outputs regardless of sophistication if they lack integrity.
Itodo also cautioned organisations using digital platforms to collate results, insisting their data must be accurate, methods transparent and systems open to independent scrutiny.
He said while civil society can independently monitor and aggregate results to promote transparency, only INEC has legal power to declare results and winners, warning that inaccurate figures could fuel tension and weaken acceptance of outcomes.
Chairman of Senegal’s Electoral Commission and head of ECONEC, Abdoulaye Sylla, said electoral institutions across West Africa must prepare for AI’s influence on democracy.
Sylla listed disinformation, deepfakes, algorithmic bias, data privacy violations, cyber threats and voter manipulation as major threats.
He, however, disclosed that ECONEC is developing guidelines for responsible AI use in elections to protect voters’ rights, ensure common standards and keep human oversight central, while calling for stronger cross-border cooperation among electoral commissions.