Nigeria’s electoral umpire has redrawn the roadmap to the 2027 general elections, announcing fresh dates for key polls in line with the newly enacted Electoral Act 2026.
Under the revised timetable, Presidential and National Assembly elections will now be held on Saturday, January 16, 2027, earlier than previously scheduled. Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will follow on Saturday, February 6, 2027.
The Commission said the reshuffle became unavoidable after the repeal of the Electoral Act 2022 and the introduction of new statutory timelines in the 2026 law. The legal changes required a full recalibration of pre-election activities, including party primaries and campaign windows.
Before the adjustment, the presidential poll had been fixed for February 20, 2027, while governorship and state assembly elections were slated for March 6, 2027.
With the new framework in place, political party primaries — along with the resolution of disputes arising from them — will run from April 23 to May 30, 2026.
Campaigns for Presidential and National Assembly candidates will begin on August 19, 2026, while Governorship and State Assembly campaigns are scheduled to commence on September 9, 2026. In keeping with the law, all campaign activities must cease 24 hours before voting begins.
The Commission urged political parties and aspirants to align strictly with the updated schedule, warning that compliance with the Electoral Act 2026 will be enforced without exception. It added that the revised timetable has been made available on its official communication platforms for public access.
In a related announcement, the Osun State Governorship Election has been moved by one week — from August 8 to August 15, 2026 — to harmonize activities with the new legal framework.
While noting that certain preparatory steps for the Ekiti and Osun governorship contests had already been completed, the Commission assured that all outstanding processes would fully comply with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and the Electoral Act 2026.
In a statement signed by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Malam Mohammed Kudu Haruna, the Commission emphasized that delivering credible 2027 elections remains a shared national task.
It called on political parties, candidates, civil society organisations, security agencies, the media and voters to collaborate in safeguarding a peaceful, transparent and inclusive electoral process that reflects the sovereign will of Nigerians.
INEC Resets 2027 Election Calendar, Presidential Poll Now January 16
