2027 Election: INEC Reveals Date To Publish Presidential, National Assembly Candidates

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will publish the personal particulars of all presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections on Saturday, August 1, 2026.

The documents, contained in Form EC9, will be displayed at INEC offices across the country to enable members of the public to inspect the credentials and information submitted by candidates.

The publication is in line with Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act, which requires the commission to make candidates’ personal particulars available for public scrutiny within 21 days of receiving them.

Political parties completed the online submission of the names, personal particulars and other required documents for their presidential and National Assembly candidates on July 14, following a 72-hour extension granted by the commission beyond the original deadline.

Under INEC’s revised election timetable, the nomination portal for presidential and National Assembly candidates was initially scheduled to remain open from June 27 to July 11, 2026.

Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act requires political parties to submit Forms EC9, EC9A, EC9B, EC9C, EC9D and EC9E containing the names and personal particulars of their nominated candidates no later than 120 days before the election.

Speaking on whether the extension of the nomination deadline would affect the publication date, INEC Deputy Director of Publicity, Wilfred Osilama Ifogah, said he did not expect any change, although he stressed that he was expressing a personal opinion rather than the commission’s official position.

“I don’t think the extension will necessarily affect the publication. The commission only needs to collate the information before making it public. That is my personal opinion, not the official position of INEC. We will all know the commission’s decision when the time comes,” he said.

Meanwhile, the online submission of nominations for governorship and State House of Assembly candidates, which began on July 18, will continue until August 8, 2026.

INEC has scheduled the publication of the personal particulars of governorship and State Assembly candidates for August 29, 2026.

Party primaries that produced candidates for the various elective offices were conducted between April 23 and May 30, 2026.

The commission has fixed January 16, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while governorship and State House of Assembly elections will take place on February 6, 2027.