The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit candidates for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections from August 8 to August 11, 2026.
The commission announced the extension in a statement issued on Sunday by the Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.
According to INEC, the decision followed requests from political parties seeking additional time to complete the uploading and submission of their candidates’ details.
The new deadline is now Tuesday, August 11, instead of Saturday, August 8, as earlier contained in the commission’s revised timetable.
Meanwhile, INEC has suspended further collection of Permanent Voter Cards in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced PVCs have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to download and print their replacement cards.
INEC said the deadline would allow it to compile the number of downloaded PVCs and establish the final statistics of cards collected ahead of the Osun governorship election.
The electoral body also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs have been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums reportedly invaded the two collection centres and carted away some voter cards.
INEC assured affected voters that the stolen PVCs cannot be used to cast ballots.
PVC collection in Osun began at the Registration Area level on July 22 and was initially scheduled to end on July 28.
However, the commission extended the exercise to July 31 following complaints about overcrowding and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres.
The exercise was subsequently moved to the local government level and continued from August 1 to 7.
INEC said it remains committed to ensuring that the Osun State governorship election is conducted in a free, fair, credible and inclusive manner.
