Ahead the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC for political parties to upload the names and other details of their presidential and National Assembly candidates on its portal, some political parties in the country are seriously rushing to beat the deadline.
The deadline ends tomorrow, July 11, 20226 as set by the nation’s election umpire on its website and information made available to political parties contesting in the 2027 election.
According to INEC, the deadline is in tandem with the relevant provision of the Electoral Act 2026(as amended), particularly Section 29(1) of the Acts, which provides that political parties must submit their candidates profiles on or not later than 120 days before the election.
The development comes on the heels of the ongoing battles by some aspirants against their parties, on the need to be upheld as candidates for the 2027 election, a situation that analysts say may be the reason why the affected parties have yet to submit details of their candidates to INEC.
For instance, a presidential aspirant of the Accord Party, Hashim Olawepo has dragged the party to court, demanding that he be recognized as the party’s presidential candidate.
The presidential aspirant is praying the court to determine the party’s failure to upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal, despite his emergence as the sole winner of the Accord Party presidential primary held on May 30, 2026, violates the Electoral Act, 2026, the Constitution, and INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
Olawepo also prayed the court for a declaration that the party’s refusal to forward his name to INEC amounts to a breach of Section 86 of the Electoral Act, 2026, as well as Clauses 28(1) and 28(2) of the electoral guidelines governing the nomination of candidates while asking the court to order the Accord Party to upload and submit his name to INEC as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Political pundits insist that the decision by aspirants to seek legal redress on the issue may encumber political parties from meeting the deadline set by INEC to them to submit the profile of their candidate.
Some of the profiles expected to be submitted to INEC include forms EC9 (personal particulars of candidates) and EC9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E (names/list of nominated presidential and National Assembly candidates).
The magazine however learnt that some political parties may not meet the deadline due to some rancour which followed their recent primary elections, particularly for the presidential and NASS elections.
On the other hand, some political parties, including the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, African Democratic Congress, ADC, Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, the magazine learnt, are seriously racing to meet tomorrow’s deadline.
These three parties, according to checks from the INEC have already submitted the names of their presidential candidates; these include Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the APC; Atiku Abubakar for the ADC; and Peter Obi for the NDC.
Speaking recently, NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson said Obi’s name, and other NASS candidates, including him have been uploaded on the INEC’s porter, despite the registration challenge facing the party, after a Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi state ordered INEC to de-list the party among the political parties contesting next year’s election. .
“My name and that of the presidential candidate have been uploaded to the INEC portal, while that of the vice presidential candidate will be done tomorrow upon completion of the deposition. The process is also ongoing for other candidates,” he stated.
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