By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the lists of candidates for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for the February 2027 General Election.
The commission said the submission window, which was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, August 8, 2026, has now been extended to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
INEC, in a statement issued on Saturday by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the extension followed appeals from political parties for additional time to complete the process of uploading their candidates’ lists on the dedicated portal.
The commission also announced that the window for voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to print downloadable copies of their cards would close at midnight on Sunday, August 9, 2026.
According to INEC, the deadline is necessary to enable it to compile data on downloaded PVCs and produce final statistics on total PVCs collected ahead of the August 15, 2026 Osun State governorship election.
The commission recalled that PVC collection in Osun State commenced at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026, but was extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties encountered by voters at collection centres.
Collection subsequently moved to the Local Government Area level and ran from August 1 to 7, 2026.
INEC 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 invasions of the two collection centres by hoodlums.
The commission assured voters that the stolen PVCs could not be used to vote. INEC reiterated its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election in Osun State on August 15, 2026.
