...Partners RiseNework, Meta, others to deploy AI during polls
Ahead of the 2027 general elections , 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 to use artificial intelligence to strengthen electoral integrity and democratic participation beyond the forthcoming polls.

Speaking during a press conference after the launch , RiseNetworks Dr Toyosi Akerele- Ogunsoni said 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.

She said the app will also resolve challenges of 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.”

According to Dr Toyosi hackathon 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.

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

She said interested applicants can visit ai4elections.risenetworks.org for details and application guidelines.

On its part, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the deployment of AI will resolve challenges of results management and accreditation beyound the the 2027 general elections .

INEC director of ICT ,Dr Lawrence Bayode said the app was tested during the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) council elections , the off-season Governorship elections in Osun and has proven to be effective .

According to him , the AI will be used to eliminate discrepancies between accredited number of votes and total votes casted in a polling unit , uploading of unnecessary images on the commission’s portal and other challenges that could not be handled during the 2023 elections .

The commission also assured that there will be no network glitches during collation of results in the forthcoming elections as it was witnessed in 2023.