The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has closed its Candidate Nomination Portal following the completion of the window for political parties to upload the particulars of their candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The portal closed at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, after INEC granted political parties a three-day extension to conclude the submission of their candidates’ details.
The initial deadline for the exercise was August 8, but the commission approved the extension following appeals from several political parties that requested additional time to complete the nomination process.
An INEC official confirmed that political parties took advantage of the additional window provided by the commission, stressing that the extension was specifically granted to enable parties finalise their submissions.
Among the parties reported to have completed the process are the All Progressives Congress (APC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), among others.
The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, had earlier announced that the ruling party successfully uploaded the details of its candidates for the various elective positions.
Similarly, the founder of the NNPP, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, disclosed that the party had submitted candidates for more than 90 per cent of the available elective positions.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the extension was granted in response to appeals from political parties that needed additional time to complete the nomination process.
The commission said all candidate particulars were submitted electronically through its Candidate Nomination Portal.
However, INEC said it would not immediately release the final number of political parties and candidates that successfully completed the exercise, explaining that the submissions must first be reconciled and verified.
A senior commission official said releasing preliminary figures immediately after the closure of the portal could result in inaccurate statistics, as political parties were permitted to make submissions up to the final deadline.
The commission is expected to commence the verification and reconciliation of the submitted information before publishing the final figures.
The latest extension is the second adjustment INEC has made to a candidate-submission deadline ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In July, the commission extended the deadline for the submission of presidential and National Assembly candidates from July 11 to July 14 after political parties, through the Inter-Party Advisory Council, raised concerns about difficulties encountered during the electronic upload of candidates’ details.
INEC said the additional time was intended to provide all registered political parties with a fair opportunity to complete the nomination process and ensure that no party was disadvantaged by technical or administrative challenges.
With the portal now closed, attention is expected to shift to INEC’s verification of the submitted particulars and the eventual publication of the final list of candidates cleared to contest the 2027 elections.
