Again, Obidient Movement rejects INEC’s planned use of AI in 2027 results collation
tribuneonlineng.com6 hours ago
The Obidient Movement has rejected plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the collation of results for the 2027 general elections.
The movement, in a statement signed by its Media and Communications Directorate, Onyeka Dike, on Wednesday, said it was unacceptable for INEC to introduce AI into one of the most sensitive stages of the electoral process while its framework for governing the technology had yet to be finalised.
The group described the plan as “reckless and unacceptable,” insisting that Nigerians should not be subjected to what it described as another untested electoral experiment.
“INEC cannot tell Nigerians that it intends to introduce AI into one of the most sensitive stages of the electoral process while simultaneously admitting that the rules governing its use are still being developed,” the statement said.
The Obidient Movement said INEC should instead focus on restoring public confidence in the electoral process following the controversies surrounding the 2023 elections.
It demanded a transparent, auditable and verifiable results process in which every result could be traced from the polling unit to the final declaration.
The movement also criticised the INEC Chairman’s warning to Nigerians and media organisations against announcing or declaring results not issued by the Commission.
While acknowledging INEC’s statutory authority to declare official election results, the group said the warning, coming alongside the proposed deployment of AI and an unfinished governance framework, raised questions about the Commission’s intentions.
The group further alleged that there were rumours of the INEC Chairman being in France with President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and other political actors to perfect strategies for the 2027 elections. It, however, provided no evidence to substantiate the allegation.
The movement also accused INEC of failing to adequately address concerns arising from the 2023 elections, including issues surrounding the electronic transmission and publication of results on the IReV portal.
According to the group, the problems experienced during the 2023 elections were not caused by the absence of technology but by what it described as failures in the electoral process.
The Obidient Movement consequently demanded that INEC immediately abandon plans to use AI in election results collation.
It also called on the electoral commission to publish a clear and independently auditable framework for every technology to be deployed during the elections.
Other demands included ensuring that results remain traceable to polling units and verifiable by political parties, observers, journalists and citizens.
The movement further called on INEC to adopt what it described as Mundus Analytics’ five commitments, including the publication of Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D and EC8E on IReV.
It urged the INEC Chairman to retrace his steps and guarantee that the will of voters, rather than the preferences of political actors or electoral officials, determines election outcomes.
“In 2027, Nigerians will not surrender their votes to technology, bureaucracy or manipulation. Every vote must count, every result must be verifiable, and the true choice of the Nigerian people must prevail,” the statement said.
COURTESY: tribuneonlineng.com
