By Suleiman Aremu | Solaremnews
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended by three days the deadline for political parties to submit the lists of their candidates for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections under the February 2027 General Election.
The Commission also announced the conclusion of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection exercise in Osun State ahead of the August 15, 2026 governorship election, while giving voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced PVCs until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
INEC announced the developments in a statement issued on Saturday by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee.
According to the Commission, the deadline for political parties to upload their lists of Governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates on its dedicated portal, which was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, August 8, 2026, has now been extended to Tuesday, August 11.
INEC said the extension followed growing appeals from political parties for additional time to complete the submission process.
The Commission stressed that the candidate-submission exercise relates to the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled to be conducted as part of the February 2027 General Election.
In a separate development relating to the August 15 Osun State Governorship Election, INEC said the window for voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced PVCs to print downloadable copies of their cards would close at midnight on Sunday, August 9.
The Commission explained that the deadline would enable it to compile data on the downloadable PVCs printed by voters and establish the final statistics of total PVCs collected ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
INEC recalled that PVC collection in Osun State commenced at the Registration Area level on July 22 and was initially scheduled to run until July 28, 2026.
However, following complaints over large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres, the Commission approved an extension of Registration Area-level collection to July 31.
The exercise subsequently moved to the Local Government Area level, where collection took place from August 1 to August 7, 2026.
The Commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the invasion of the two collection centres by hoodlums who carted away voters’ cards.
INEC, however, assured affected voters that the stolen PVCs could not be used to vote.
The Commission urged voters who applied for replacement of their PVCs to make use of the remaining window to print their downloadable cards before the midnight deadline on August 9.
The electoral body further reassured the people of Osun State of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on August 15, 2026.
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