INEC
Iyunade Grace
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finalized the timetable for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. According to the schedule, the Presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on Saturday, February 20, 2027, while the Governorship and State Assembly elections will take place on Saturday, March 6, 2027 .
The commission has also announced the campaign periods for the elections. Campaigns for the Presidential and National Assembly elections will commence on November 18, 2026, and end on February 19, 2027, while Governorship and State Assembly campaigns will begin on December 15, 2026, and conclude on March 5, 2027.
In preparation for the polls, INEC will conduct Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) from April 2026 to January 2027, allowing eligible Nigerians to register or update their voter information. The commission will also display voter registers in October 2026 and collect PVCs from December 2026 to February 2027 .
Political parties are expected to conduct their primaries between July 1 and September 30, 2026, and submit their candidate lists to INEC from October 1 to October 31, 2026. The final list of candidates will be published on November 15, 2026.
INEC has urged political parties, stakeholders, and the electorate to comply with the timetable and guidelines to ensure a smooth and credible electoral process. The commission has also emphasized its commitment to transparency, maintaining the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and a combination of electronic and manual result transmission.
The 2027 elections will serve as a test of Nigeria’s institutional stability, and the early publication of the timetable is aimed at providing policy certainty and mitigating the “political risk premium.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, has assured that the commission is ready for the 2027 general election, despite the delay in the passage of the amended Electoral Act. He has urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the bill.
