The countdown to the 2027 general elections has gathered pace, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirming that nine registered political parties have already obtained the access codes required to upload the particulars of their presidential and National Assembly candidates.
The development was disclosed on Tuesday in Abuja by INEC National Commissioner for Voter Education and Publicity, Malam Mohammed Haruna.
“As of close of work on Monday, nine political parties have collected the access code for the national elections,” he said.
Haruna identified the parties as Accord (A), Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), National Democratic Congress (NDC), National Democratic Party (NDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and Social Democratic Party (SDP).
He explained that it is the duty of political parties intending to participate in the elections to formally approach the electoral commission to obtain the access codes, stressing that INEC would not distribute them to party offices.
According to him, only individuals carrying a valid authorisation letter from their party leadership will be allowed to collect the codes on behalf of their political parties.
Haruna further stated that the commission had already released detailed guidelines governing the nomination process and had equally trained political party officials on the procedures to ensure seamless compliance.
He urged parties to strictly follow the regulations and avoid unnecessary delays in completing the online nomination process.
“INEC has been generous by extending the deadline from the close of work to midnight of the deadline date. If any political party decides to wait until the deadline, INEC cannot be blamed for that,” Haruna said.
INEC has scheduled the submission of nomination forms for presidential and National Assembly candidates from June 27 to July 11 through its dedicated candidate nomination portal.
The commission’s election timetable also provides that governorship and State House of Assembly candidates will submit their nomination forms between July 18 and August 8, as preparations for the 2027 polls continue to gather momentum.
