INEC revises 2027 candidate lists after petition review

INEC has approved additions and removals from its 2027 governorship and state assembly candidate lists after upholding 66 petitions and rejecting 64.

Mohammed Kudu Haruna, chairman of the commission’s information and voter education committee, announced the decisions in a statement dated Thursday, published on its website on Friday.

The changes affect parties and candidates whose inclusion or omission was challenged after the final lists were published on 10 October. INEC said it reviewed the complaints against its records and applicable legal requirements.

For governorship elections, the commission received 69 petitions, of which 41 succeeded and 28 failed.

For state Houses of Assembly, it received 61 petitions, upheld 25 and rejected 36.

The complaints included omitted political parties, candidates whose names were absent from membership registers submitted by their parties, and alleged multiple nominations.

INEC said it approved the inclusion of candidates and parties with justified complaints. It also removed wrongly listed names and candidates whose nominations did not meet legal requirements.

The statement did not identify individual candidates. INEC said the updated lists on its website would show the affected candidates, parties and states.

Sources: INEC statement; Daily Post; Vanguard