Nigeria: INEC Extends Deadline for Submission of Nominations for State Elections to 11 August

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for submitting nominations for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections in Nigeria's upcoming 2027 general elections. This extension comes after political parties petitioned for more time to finalize their candidate lists. The revised deadline is now set for 11 August, up from the originally scheduled closing date of August 8.

The extension was announced by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, during a statement in Abuja. Voters who applied for replacement Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were informed that the window to print downloadable copies of their cards would close by midnight on August 9.

This change is to ensure the commission can compile the data from downloaded PVCs for final statistics before the Osun governorship election on August 15. The collection of PVCs in Osun State was initially held at the registration area level from July 22 to July 28 due to concerns over large crowds and difficulties faced by voters.

Following complaints, the commission extended RA-level collection to July 31 before shifting to the Local Government Area (LGA) level, which ran from August 1 to August 7. In addition, INEC reiterated that the stolen replacement cards cannot be used to vote, emphasizing their irrelevance in the election process.