INEC, Meta, Rise Networks, Others Join Forces to Launch #AI4Elections Hackathon

***• Atiku demands display of preliminary voters’ register ***

•CCND gives commission eight days to publish register online or face suit

Chuks Okocha, Olawale Ajimotokan and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Meta, and Rise Networks have joined forces with other technology and civil society partners to launch the #AI4Elections Hackathon, a national initiative aimed at harnessing artificial intelligence to strengthen electoral integrity and democratic participation.

The initiative seeks to bring together Nigerian developers, researchers, students, technology entrepreneurs, electoral experts, and civic innovators to design and develop practical, AI-powered solutions to emerging electoral challenges.

These include misinformation, cybersecurity threats, electoral data analysis, inclusive civic engagement, and citizen accountability.

Building on the experience of Run-Am, an AI-powered misinformation detection and fact-checking mobile application developed for Nigeria’s 2023 elections, Rise Networks is spearheading the programme in collaboration with INEC, Meta, Google, Microsoft, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and other institutional partners.

The hackathon, according to Dr Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji of Rise Network, will focus on five key areas, including trustworthy electoral information, data-driven decision-making, inclusive and multilingual civic technology, electoral cybersecurity, and election observation.

Participants are expected to develop functional technological solutions that can contribute to credible, transparent, inclusive, and people-centred electoral processes.

She said with a total cash prize pool of N10 million, alongside cloud credits, laptops, and other technology tools, the competition is open to eligible Nigerians aged 18 and above, participating individually or in teams of up to four members.

Applications opened yesterday, October 22, 2026, and close on November 12, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. West African Time. The programme will culminate in a national innovation showcase in Lagos on December 16, 2026, followed by technical support for promising solutions.

Organisers emphasised that the initiative is nonpartisan and prioritises responsible AI, data privacy, human oversight, and compliance with electoral laws.

Interested applicants can visit ai4elections.risenetworks.org for details and application guidelines.

Atiku Demands Immediate Display of Preliminary Voters Register By INEC

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate publication of preliminary voters’ register, warning that its absence from INEC’s online display during the announced October 9 to 15 scrutiny period raised grave questions about the integrity of the 2027 election.

In a statement by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said, “INEC has announced more than 103 million registered voters. Nigerians went to its portal to inspect their names and found an empty page.

“That is an outrage. A figure cannot answer an objection. A press announcement cannot tell a voter whether his/her name has been omitted. Show Nigerians the register.

“I cannot recall a more brazen invitation to distrust the voter register. INEC announced a seven-day exercise and then failed to make the register available on the portal provided for public scrutiny.

‘’Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires display at registration areas and online. INEC does not get to treat that requirement as optional.

“Worse still, INEC’s chairman reportedly said on October 5 that the public display had already been completed. Nigerians were subsequently told it would take place from October 9 to 15.

“Which statement is true? Where was the register published? For seven full days, or for no days at all? INEC must produce the dates, the links and the records of access.

“Section 63(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 permits a returning officer to count a ballot paper without INEC’s official mark if satisfied that it came from a book supplied to the polling unit. What evidence will establish that origin?

‘’Who will verify it, and how will parties challenge a false claim? Nigerians cannot be denied access to the voters’ register before election day and then be asked to accept unmarked ballot papers after voting.

“INEC must set out enforceable safeguards against counterfeit ballots, and the National Assembly must close any loophole that leaves the authenticity of a vote to an officer’s unsupported assurance.

‘’To date, INEC has yet to respond to inquiries about the identity of the companies awarded contracts to print sensitive election materials,’’ he stated

CCND Gives INEC Eight Days to Publish Voters Register Online or Face Legal Action

A civic group, Concerned Citizens for Nigerian Democracy (CCND), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the preliminary voters’ register on its website by Friday, 30 October, or face court action.

In a Freedom of Information (FoI) request addressed to the INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, the group said Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 required the commission to publish the register not later than 90 days before a general election.

For the presidential election of 16 January 2027, it said, the deadline was 18 October.

CCND said it would ask the Federal High Court for “an order of mandamus compelling publication and an extension of the period for claims and objections” if the register was not posted online.

The group noted that the Act required publication “at every registration area and on its official website.”

It also acknowledged that INEC announced a physical display from 9 to 15 October, but said when it checked the commission’s voter registration website (cvr.inecnigeria.org) on 21 October, the page showed only the message “Service temporarily unavailable”, adding: “No preliminary register could be viewed or downloaded.”

It added that there were public reports that voters at display centres could check only their own names on request.

The group recalled that ahead of the 2023 elections, INEC published the register online with a process for claims and objections.

“Citizens, parties and observers cannot check it for duplicate, deceased or unlawfully transferred entries, and the 14-day window for claims and objections is meaningless. The register is the foundation of the election,” It added.