INEC To Issue Candidate Nomination Portal Access Codes To Parties June 26

INEC says political parties can begin uploading candidates’ details for the 2027 elections from June 26.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it would issue official access codes to all political parties for the purpose of accessing the Candidate Nomination Portal on Friday, 26th June, 2026.

Amupitan disclosed this, on Tuesday, in Abuja at the Second Quarterly Consultative Meeting with leaders of political parties.

He noted that the access codes would enable designated national officers of political parties to upload the names, personal particulars and other required information relating to nominated candidates.

The chairman said with 10 days away from the Ekiti State Governorship Election scheduled for Saturday, 20th June 2026 and to ensure complete institutional transparency, he recently led a high-level delegation to Ekiti State to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the Commission’s preparedness for the election.

Describing INEC preparations as progressing satisfactorily, Amupitanstressed that the Register of Voters for the election contained a total of 1,059,360 registered voters.

He noted that this figure reflected the addition of 66,664 new voters registered during the first and second phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise to the 2023 register of 987,647 voters.

According to him, “In line with our commitment to maintaining the integrity of the Register, 2,103 registrations identified as cases of double registration were invalidated.Our logistics arrangements, election technology deployment, training of election officials and stakeholder engagements are all proceeding according to schedule.

“We remain committed to the simultaneous opening of all 2,445 Polling Units across the 16 Local Government Areas of the State at 8:30 a.m. on Election Day.”

Amupitan stressed that it was necessary to address recent judicial pronouncements relating to the Commission’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 general election.

He explained that the Commission has carefully considered two recent judgments of the Federal High Court concerning the scope of its powers to prescribe timelines for electoral activities.

Amupitan recalled that in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026 – Youth Party v. INEC, delivered on 20th May 2026, the Court questioned certain timelines contained in the Commission’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election.

Subsequently, he said in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/720/2026 – Social Democratic Party (SDP) v. INEC, delivered on 26th May 2026, the Court affirmed the Commission’s authority to issue an electoral timetable and observed that “an election timetable, without date for submission of parties’ membership register, timeframe for primaries, etc. is inchoate.

Amupitan added: “Without this timetable, there would be chaos in our electoral system. At the same time, the Court nullified certain timelines relating to the nomination and substitution of candidates contained in the Commission’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities.

“While the Commission remains fully respectful of the decisions of the Courts and of the judicial process generally, these judgments raise important legal questions concerning the extent of the Commission’s constitutional and statutory powers in coordinating and regulating electoral activities.

“In view of the differing conclusions reached in the judgments and in order to ensure certainty and stability in preparations for the 2027 general election, the Commission has filed appeals against the decisions and has taken the necessary legal steps to obtain authoritative pronouncements from the Appellate Courts.

“The Commission’s position remains that the activities contained in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities are not isolated events. They are interrelated operational processes designed to ensure the orderly, transparent and successful conduct of elections.

“While the Electoral Act prescribes timelines for certain activities, there are several critical electoral processes for which no express statutory timelines are provided but which must necessarily be accommodated within the overall electoral calendar.

“The absence of coordinated timelines for such activities would create uncertainty, disrupt election planning and undermine the Commission’s constitutional responsibility to organise, undertake and supervise elections in an efficient and credible manner.”

Amupitan said these activities included the submission and verification of party membership registers; the monitoring of party primaries across the Federation; the pre-upload of the names of winners of monitored primaries by political parties on the Commission’s designated portal as an accountability mechanism aimed at strengthening internal party democracy; the nomination process itself; the printing of ballot papers and result sheets; quality assurance procedures; among others.

He stressed further that the Commission considered 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.

“I wish to assure political parties and the Nigerian public that notwithstanding the pending appeals, the Commission remains firmly committed to conducting the 2027 general election in strict compliance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act and all lawful judicial pronouncements,” he assured.

The chairman said following the conclusion of the primaries, the Commission was transitioning to the candidate nomination phase.

“Accordingly, on Friday, 26th June, 2026, the Commission will issue official access codes to all political parties for the purpose of accessing the Candidate Nomination Portal.

“These access codes will enable designated national officers of political parties to upload the names, personal particulars and other required information relating to nominated candidates.

“I urge political parties to ensure that their ICT personnel and relevant officers are adequately prepared and that all submissions are completed well before the stipulated deadlines.

“The portal is fully automated and will close automatically at the expiration of the prescribed period.”

The chairman said the credibility of elections depended on the collective commitment to the rule of law, democratic values and the integrity of the electoral process.

He assured the parties that the Commission remained independent, impartial in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities and firmly committed to ensuring that every valid vote counts and that the will of the Nigerian people is faithfully reflected in electoral outcomes.