2027 election dates are set by law and won't move, says INEC chief

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has ruled out any change to the dates of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking in Port Harcourt at a readiness review with INEC staff from the six South-South states, he said the election timetable is fixed by law and the commission will stick to it.

Amupitan said the commission has displayed the voter register for public review, received more than 5,000 requests for corrections and over 600 objections, and will publish the final register on 15 December. He said an earlier plan to revalidate the whole register was dropped because it would have come too close to the polls.

Rivers State has the largest number of registered voters in the region, at about 3.74 million, and the six South-South states together have around 15.8 million. He told staff to make sure no voter loses their vote because of a technical or logistics failure.

He added that INEC is working with the police and the DSS to protect voters, staff and materials, and is strengthening its systems against cyber threats, including those linked to artificial intelligence.