The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit their governorship and State House of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections, while announcing the suspension of PVC collection in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship poll.
The electoral commission announced the development in a statement issued on Saturday by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee.
According to INEC, political parties now have until Tuesday, August 11, 2026, to upload their lists of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates to the commission’s dedicated portal.
The deadline was initially scheduled to close on Saturday, August 8, but was extended following appeals from political parties for additional time to complete the submission process.
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Update on Osun
The commission also announced that voters in Osun State who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards would have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
INEC said the deadline would enable it to compile the number of downloaded replacement PVCs and finalise statistics on voter cards collected ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission recalled that PVC collection in Osun began at the Registration Area level on July 22 and was initially scheduled to end on July 28.
However, following complaints about large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres, INEC extended the exercise to July 31 before moving the collection to the Local Government Area level from August 1 to August 7.
The commission further disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
No stolen PVC would be used —INEC
INEC clarified that the stolen PVCs could not be used to vote.
The electoral body assured residents of Osun State that it remained prepared to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on August 15, 2026.
