INEC fixes dates for 2027 Presidential, govs, other polls, primaries, voter registration

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially released the timetable for Nigeria’s 2027 General Elections, setting key dates for voting, party primaries, campaigns, and voter registration.

The release comes amid rising concerns over the delayed passage of the amended Electoral Act, which is currently before the National Assembly.

Despite the legislative holdup, INEC had indicated on February 4 that work on the election timetable and schedule of activities had been completed.

According to the schedule, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are set to hold on Saturday, February 20, 2027. Governorship and State House of Assembly elections will follow two weeks later, on Saturday, March 6, 2027.

INEC also outlined the official campaign periods: campaigns for the Presidential and National Assembly elections will run from November 18, 2026, to February 19, 2027, while those for Governorship and State Assembly elections will begin on December 15, 2026, and end on March 5, 2027—24 hours before the election date.

Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) is scheduled to begin in April 2026 and close in January 2027, providing ample opportunity for eligible Nigerians to register or update their information.

Political parties are 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 is expected to be published on November 15, 2026.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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