2027: INEC Gives Parties More Time to Submit Governorship, Assembly Candidates

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the names of their candidates for the 2027 governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.

The deadline, which was originally set for Saturday, August 8, 2026, has now been moved to Tuesday, August 11.

INEC disclosed the development in a statement issued on Sunday by Mohammed Haruna, Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee.

According to the commission, the extension was granted following requests from several political parties for additional time to complete the candidate-upload process.

INEC said the decision was in line with its commitment to ensuring that all political parties are given adequate opportunity to meet the requirements for the forthcoming elections.

Meanwhile, the commission has stopped the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Osun State ahead of the state’s governorship election scheduled for August 15.

Haruna said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced PVCs had until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to download and print copies of their replacement cards.

The commission explained that the deadline would enable it to compile the number of downloaded PVCs and establish the final statistics of collected voter cards ahead of the election.

INEC also announced that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the reported theft of cards during an attack on two PVC collection centres.

The electoral body stressed that the stolen PVCs would not be valid for voting during the election.

PVC collection in Osun State initially began at the Registration Area level on July 22 and was scheduled to end on July 28. However, INEC extended the exercise to July 31 following complaints over overcrowding and difficulties encountered by voters at some collection centres.

The collection was subsequently moved to the local government level, where it continued from August 1 to August 7.

INEC reaffirmed its commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election in Osun State on August 15.