Nigeria: Abuja School, Tap Initiative Train Citizens to Track Poll Results Ahead of 2027 Elections

The Abuja School of Social and Political Thought and TAP Initiative for Citizens’ Development have launched a nationwide electoral monitoring programme to promote transparency and public confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The initiative, tagged “i-Report-INEC”, will train civil society organisations (CSOs), political parties and their agents, media practitioners and support groups to monitor elections and report incidents in real time.

The Director of the Abuja School, Dr Sam Amadi, and the Executive Director of TAP Initiative, Mr Martin Obono, announced the programme at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

Amadi said the initiative was designed to strengthen electoral integrity, particularly as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to deploy advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, during the 2027 polls.

He said declining public confidence in electoral management could undermine democratic governance, citing setbacks in parts of West Africa.

“The best way to protect an election is to assume that elections will not be free and fair, and to work to make them free and fair,” Amadi said.

He added that the initiative was focused on strengthening the electoral process rather than determining who wins an election.

“Our concern is to get the electoral system right, not just about who wins. For us, ensuring that the 2027 election ends with a vote of confidence in the electoral system is the ultimate focus,” he said.

Amadi disclosed that training sessions had been completed in Plateau and Niger states, with plans to extend the exercise to 12 states across the six geopolitical zones.

He said each session would involve about 40 participants drawn from civil society organisations, the media, political parties and support groups.

The planned locations include Enugu and Owerri in the South-East, Port Harcourt and Benin in the South-South, and Lagos and Osun in the South-West.

“After completing the capacity building in these 12 states, we will review the exercise,” he said.

Amadi explained that the programme was not intended to confront INEC but formed part of the Abuja School’s Deepening Democracy Series, launched in 2022 to strengthen democratic governance.

“The idea is that we should not give up on electoral democracy. If we must sustain development and democracy, we have to invest more in the quality of elections, ensuring they are free and fair,” he said.

He also expressed concern over INEC’s failure to display the national voter register on Monday, as required by law, and urged political parties to engage legal practitioners with a sound understanding of the electoral system.

According to him, legal representation should extend beyond election petitions and court cases to constructive engagement with INEC on its statutory responsibilities.

“The whole idea of legal representation for parties is not just after votes or going to court. It is about using lawyers who understand the electoral system to engage INEC transparently based on its statutory mandate,” he said.

Digital Platform To Track Results, Incidents

Explaining the role of the i-Report-INEC application, Obono said it would enable citizens, party agents and election observers to upload polling-unit results and report incidents as they occur.

He said the platform would improve public access to election information and provide a means of monitoring the electoral process.

“The outcome of an election is not as important as the credibility of the process. This partnership creates a mirror for the entire election management process, especially regarding results,” Obono said.

He clarified that the application would not declare election winners but would make Form EC8A results already announced at polling units accessible to the public.

“We are not declaring winners; we are making results already announced at polling units accessible to the entire world to see,” he said.

Obono cited previous deployments of the platform during off-cycle elections in Osun State, where it provided real-time data and incident tracking amid delays in the transmission of results on INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

He urged Nigerians planning to participate in the 2027 elections to download the application and familiarise themselves with its features before the polls.

By  Leadership.