The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to issue official access codes to political parties on Friday, June 26, 2026, to enable authorised national officers to access the Candidate Nomination Portal.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this on Tuesday during the Commission’s Second Quarterly Consultative Meeting with leaders of political parties in Abuja.
He said the portal will allow parties to upload the names, personal details and other required information of nominated candidates.
Amupitan, however, cautioned political parties against delays, stressing that the nomination platform is fully automated and programmed to shut down immediately after the expiration of the approved submission period.
The Chairman also confirmed that it has filed appeals against two recent Federal High Court judgements that questioned aspects of its timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 General Election, warning that isolating or removing components of the electoral calendar could undermine the entire election process.
According to him, the Commission had carefully reviewed the judgements and taken legal steps to obtain definitive pronouncements from the appellate courts on issues affecting its constitutional and statutory powers in the conduct of elections.
The first ruling, delivered on May 20, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026, involving the Youth Party and INEC, questioned specific timelines contained in the Commission’s electoral timetable.
The second judgement, delivered on May 26, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/720/2026, involving the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and INEC, produced what the Commission described as a mixed outcome. While the court upheld INEC’s authority to issue an electoral timetable, it simultaneously invalidated some timelines relating to the nomination and substitution of candidates.
Speaking at the meeting, Amupitan stressed that the Commission remains fully committed to respecting judicial decisions and the legal process, but maintained that the judgments raise significant legal issues requiring clarification by higher courts.
“While the Commission remains fully respectful of the decisions of the Courts and of the judicial process generally, these judgements raise important legal questions concerning the extent of the Commission’s constitutional and statutory powers in coordinating and regulating electoral activities”, he said.
The INEC Chairman noted that even in the SDP case, the court acknowledged the importance of a comprehensive election timetable to avoid administrative confusion.
Quoting the judgement, he said: “An election timetable, without a date for submission of parties’ membership register, a timeframe for primaries, etc., is inchoate. Without this timetable, there would be chaos in our electoral system.”
Amupitan argued that election activities contained in the Commission’s timetable are interconnected operational processes rather than isolated events, making it impractical to alter one aspect without affecting the entire system.
He explained that while the Electoral Act prescribes timelines for certain electoral activities, several critical procedures are not specifically covered by statutory provisions and therefore require administrative scheduling within the broader electoral framework.
According to him, such activities include the submission and verification of political parties’ membership registers, monitoring of party primaries nationwide, pre-uploading of primary election results on INEC’s designated portal, candidate nomination procedures, and the printing of ballot papers and result sheets.
Other activities listed include quality assurance processes, deployment of election materials, training of election officials, voter education and public sensitisation campaigns, procurement of sensitive election materials, configuration of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, and compliance with statutory obligations requiring political parties to inspect samples of election materials.
“The Commission, therefore, considers it imperative that all electoral activities be harmonised within a coherent and workable framework that promotes certainty, transparency, administrative efficiency and equal treatment of all political parties”, Amupitan stated.
He assured political parties and Nigerians that, despite the pending appeals, INEC remains committed to conducting the 2027 General Election in line with constitutional provisions, the Electoral Act and lawful judicial pronouncements.
