2027: INEC Speaks On Extending Deadline For Presidential Candidate Submission

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reaffirmed that it will not extend the deadline for political parties to submit the names of their presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections, insisting that Saturday, July 11, 2026, remains the final date for the exercise.

According to Ireporter Online, the electoral commission maintained that political parties were expected to complete the upload of their candidates through its nomination portal before midnight, stressing that no additional time would be granted beyond the stipulated deadline.

INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed that as of the latest update, 14 political parties had successfully submitted candidates through the commission’s portal. The parties include the Action Alliance (AA), African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Labour Party (LP), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Young Progressives Party (YPP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

Haruna explained that the AA, AAC, ADC, APC, NDC, PRP, SDP, YPP and ZLP had already uploaded the names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, while APGA, LP, NRM, APM and the PDP were yet to complete the submission of their presidential tickets at the time of the update.

He also confirmed that the APC had formally submitted President Bola Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election, retaining Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate. However, he noted that the ruling party was yet to upload candidates for all National Assembly constituencies, citing unresolved issues affecting some Senate and House of Representatives nominations.

The INEC commissioner further revealed that the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party recognised by the commission had not submitted the names of its presidential and vice-presidential candidates as of about 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Haruna clarified that political parties experiencing difficulties with the nomination portal would not automatically lose their opportunity to participate in the elections. He explained that the electoral timetable provides a window for the withdrawal and substitution of candidates, provided all procedures outlined by the commission are strictly followed.

He added that where parties are unable to complete substitutions through the online portal, they may be required to appear before the commission, which would assess each case before deciding whether to approve any replacement candidates.

The INEC official also stressed that failure to complete an upload before the deadline does not automatically amount to disqualification, noting that provisions for candidate substitution remain available at the appropriate stage of the electoral process.

The commission had earlier cautioned political parties that its nomination portal would reject any candidate whose details did not correspond with those of aspirants who emerged from party primaries monitored by INEC.

Meanwhile, the Young Progressives Party (YPP) appealed to the commission to extend the submission deadline, arguing that technical and administrative challenges affected its ability to upload the names of some candidates.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Wale Egbeola-Martins, said the YPP would formally seek an extension, maintaining that the request was necessary to promote fairness, inclusiveness and the credibility of the electoral process. He alleged that technical issues with the INEC portal prevented the party from uploading some candidates who emerged from duly conducted primaries monitored by the commission.

Egbeola-Martins further claimed that other political parties encountered similar difficulties and urged INEC to extend the deadline to ensure that no qualified candidate or political party was unfairly excluded from the 2027 electoral process due to circumstances beyond their control.