The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun the process of formulating its Election Project Plan (EPP) ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general election. A senior official within the commission disclosed this
This proactive step is part of INEC’s effort to refine and improve its election processes, with lessons learned from the 2023 general election being applied to the planning of the upcoming poll.
The official revealed that the commission is updating its election templates in anticipation of the 2027 election cycle, with an emphasis on improving the efficiency and reliability of its operations.
“The formulation also includes the production of the 2027–2031 Strategic Plan, which will replace the current 2022–2026 plan set to end in December 2026, An important aspect of this initiative is the preparation of a key document that will bridge the gap between the current strategic plan and the election year, which the existing 2022-2026 plan does not cover. This document will lay the groundwork for the 2027 EPP,” the official explained.
While the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan primarily focused on institutionalising the commission’s processes to ensure smooth delivery of its mandate, the EPP will specifically target the logistics and operations of the general election.
The earlier plan concentrated on areas such as capacity building, professional development, and optimising resource management across a four-year cycle. In contrast, the new EPP will be a comprehensive framework focused solely on the challenges and requirements of a general election.
The EPP concept was first introduced for the 2015 general election and has been used in subsequent elections, including the 2019 and 2023 general elections. With each new cycle, INEC has adapted and evolved the plan to address emerging challenges.
Following the difficulties faced during the 2023 elections, the commission is making concerted efforts to fine-tune its processes to ensure smoother operations in future elections.
One of the key challenges in 2023 was managing a massive voter base of 93,469,008 registered voters across 176,846 polling units. The election involved the deployment of over 1.5 million personnel, including polling staff, supervisors, and security officers, as well as 182,491 vehicles to cover Nigeria’s vast and diverse terrain.
However, technical glitches in uploading presidential election results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal were one of the major issues that marred the election. While the system worked effectively for National Assembly results, the presidential results faced delays due to a configuration error.
The problem arose from difficulties in mapping the nationwide presidential results to the system, which was designed to handle state-specific election data.
This issue was eventually addressed through software updates, and the first presidential election result was successfully uploaded later on election day.
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