By Abigail David

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that nine registered political parties have collected access codes to upload the particulars of their candidates for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.

INEC National Commissioner for Voter Education and Publicity, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja, stating that the parties completed the process as of the close of business on Monday.

The political parties are Accord, Action Alliance, African Democratic Congress, All Progressives Congress, Labour Party, National Democratic Congress, National Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party and Social Democratic Party.

Haruna explained that political parties are required to request the access codes from the commission, while individuals collecting them must present an authorisation letter from their party leadership.

He urged parties to comply strictly with INEC’s candidate nomination guidelines, noting that party officials had already been trained on the nomination process.

The commissioner also advised parties not to delay submissions until the deadline, warning that technical challenges arising from last-minute uploads would be their responsibility despite the commission extending submission deadlines to midnight on the closing date.

According to the election timetable, political parties are to submit nomination forms for presidential and National Assembly candidates between June 27 and July 11 through INEC’s online nomination portal. Submission of governorship and State Assembly candidates is scheduled for July 18 to August 8.