By Odita Sunday
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do more than organise workshops and train its officials if it wants to win back the confidence of Nigerian voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The group said Nigerians were looking for practical evidence that the electoral system was becoming more transparent, accessible and accountable, rather than simply hearing that INEC was preparing its officials for the elections.
HURIWA’s position came after INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced that the commission had begun strengthening its operations ahead of the 2027 polls.
Amupitan made the disclosure while opening a two-day Strategic Operational Workshop for INEC Administrative Secretaries in Lagos, where he said the commission had entered the critical six-month preparation period and could no longer afford administrative gaps or inconsistent practices.
But HURIWA said the commission’s preparations should not end in conference rooms.
According to the group, voter apathy, declining trust and misinformation cannot be tackled through workshops alone.
“Workshops are good, training is necessary, but neither can substitute for direct engagement with the electorate,” HURIWA said.
The association said INEC needed to go into communities and speak directly with voters about their concerns, particularly those who had encountered difficulties registering or updating their voter information.
The issue is significant given INEC’s disclosure that 10,772,421 new registrants were captured during the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise conducted between August 2025 and July 2026.
HURIWA said the figure should not overshadow the number of eligible Nigerians who may have been unable to complete the process because of logistical, technological, geographical or awareness-related challenges.
It therefore called on INEC to publish a detailed report on the CVR exercise, showing the number of applications received, successful registrations, rejected applications, pending cases and registration challenges across the states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The group also wants INEC to maintain regular engagement with civil society organisations, youth and women groups, professional associations, disability-rights organisations, community groups, traditional institutions and religious leaders.
HURIWA said such engagement should not be restricted to meetings in Abuja, but should extend to the six geopolitical zones, communities and local government areas where voters can raise their concerns directly.
It also called for a transparent complaints system that would allow voters to report electoral problems, receive acknowledgement and track the progress of their complaints.
On voter education, the association urged INEC to start its campaigns early and make them simple enough for ordinary Nigerians to understand.
It said voters should be properly informed about registration, voter verification, polling-unit locations, voting procedures and how to report electoral violations.
HURIWA further asked INEC to open up discussions around its electoral technologies and procedures, saying Nigerians should understand how systems that could affect the outcome of elections work.
The group also wants regular updates from INEC on its preparedness, including logistics, recruitment and training of election personnel, technology, polling-unit accessibility, results management and contingency plans for areas affected by insecurity or network problems.
HURIWA said the real test of INEC’s preparations would not be the number of workshops it holds, but whether Nigerians are confident enough to come out and vote and trust that their votes will be properly protected, counted and respected.
The association urged Prof. Amupitan and the INEC leadership to make public trust a measurable part of their preparations for 2027.
It added that lessons from recent off-cycle elections, including the Osun governorship election, should result in practical changes that voters can actually see and experience.
“INEC must move mmbeyond telling Nigerians that it is ready for 2027. It must show Nigerians why they should trust the process,” HURIWA said.
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