The Civil Society Organisations on Community Advancement and Humanitarian Empowerment Initiative (CSCHEI), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately commence independent audits and stress tests of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to enhance public confidence in the electoral process.
The CSCHEI, a coalition of accredited Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) made the call during a media briefing in Abuja, Nigeria.
Director-General of CSCHEI and the National Project Convener, Mr. Kunle Yusuf, on behalf of the coalition said the credibility of the 2027 polls would largely depend on proactive reforms, transparency, and accountability by the electoral commission.
“INEC should strengthen electoral technology by conducting early audits and stress-tests of IReV and BVAS/BVAR, publish results of mock tests, and establish fallback protocols for real-time transmission.
“INEC should also release a clean and auditable voter register at least 90 days before the elections to allow for proper scrutiny by stakeholders,” he said
The coalition expressed concern over issues of vote buying, electoral violence, and abuse of campaign financing, urging closer collaboration between INEC, security agencies, and anti-corruption institutions.
“INEC should deploy joint INEC-security-CSO taskforces in flashpoint local government areas 30 days before the election and work with the EFCC, ICPC, and the Central Bank of Nigeria to monitor suspicious campaign financing and enforce the ban on unauthorised party agents near polling units,” he said.
The groups also advocated that there was the need for reforms in the recruitment and training process for ad hoc electoral staff, stressing the need for merit-based engagement and improved welfare.
“INEC should use a merit-based public portal for recruitment, conduct scenario-based training for ad hoc staff, and ensure timely payment of allowances,” he said.
The coalition equally called on the the electoral umpire to expand accessibility to polling centres for persons with disabilities and internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as the need for INEC to “pilot diaspora voting in at least five countries before the 2027 elections.”
The organisations further recommended partnerships with grassroots community groups to deepen voter education campaigns in local languages across the country.
The coalition similarly called on professionals, development practitioners, and experts to join politics and offer Nigeria’s more solution to challenges.
“Nigerians do not expect perfection, but they expect honesty, transparency, and visible effort to fix problems,” he said.
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Nigeria First’ Summit
The coalition also unveiled plans for a summit in 2026 with the theme “Nigeria First.”
The summit will focus on civic engagement agenda ahead of the elections aimed at ensuring accountability, issue-based campaigns, and citizen-centred governance.
“It will focus on national interest rather than personal interest,” said Yusuf.
The initiative according to him would provide a platform to evaluate political candidates and manifestoes based on competence, integrity, and alignment with national priorities rather than party affiliations.
He explained that the coalition intends to organise debates for presidential, governorship, National Assembly, State Assembly, and local government candidates nationwide.
“They must explain how their manifestos address the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action, climate financing, and how they intend to deliver democratic dividends quickly. Enough is enough of having professional destitute in office,” he added.
The group commended the gains recorded in the fight against terrorism and banditry, by the security architecture of the country, under the leadership of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
“More than 775 terrorism-related convictions had been secured, while over 11,250 hostages were rescued in Zamfara and Kaduna states,” said Yusuf.
The coalition expressed commitment to working with INEC, security agencies, and political stakeholders to ensure free, fair, credible, and peaceful elections in 2027.
