The exercise is designed to test upgrades to the commission’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic results transmission process ahead of the nationwide polls.
The commission also disclosed that it had commenced the distribution of non-sensitive election materials to some states as preparations for the 2027 elections gather momentum.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, announced the planned exercise on Thursday during a dialogue at Chatham House in London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative.
The event, themed ‘Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot’, provided a platform for discussions on the country’s electoral preparedness and democratic development.
According to a statement issued in Abuja by INEC’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the chairman, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan said the mock exercise would replicate the presidential election process and allow the commission to assess the reliability of its accreditation and electronic results transmission systems.
“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right,” he said.
Amupitan further revealed that INEC had introduced additional technical safeguards to prevent the upload of inaccurate polling unit results and figures indicating over-voting to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The measures, he said, were aimed at strengthening the credibility of the electoral process and ensuring greater accuracy and transparency in the electronic transmission and display of election results.
The nationwide mock exercise is expected to provide the commission with an opportunity to identify and address potential technical challenges before the 2027 general elections.
