By Dennis Okechukwu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Wednesday, August 19, lift the ban on public campaigns for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.
The commencement of campaigns is the sixth activity on INEC’s timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections.
The decision is in accordance with Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which stipulates that public campaigns by political parties should begin 150 days before polling day and end 24 hours before the election.
Political parties have also been given until Saturday, August 22, to substitute candidates who withdraw from the elections.
Under Section 31 of the Electoral Act, candidates are required to formally withdraw from the contest in writing not later than 90 days before the election.
In addition, political parties have until August 29 to submit the nomination forms of candidates they are sponsoring for the elections, covering Forms 13A to E, as provided under Section 30(1) of the Act.
INEC is expected to publish the final list of nominated candidates on September 12. Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act requires the commission to publish the list at least 60 days before the election.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared that it is ready for the 2027 general elections.
The party’s National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, gave the assurance when he received a delegation from the International Republican Institute (IRI).
Mohammed said the PDP had remained committed to providing responsible leadership to Nigerians and had maintained its presence across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas.
He said the party would use its discussions with the IRI delegation to explain its plans and preparations for the 2027 elections.
“I want to assure you that the PDP is fully ready for the election,” Mohammed said.
The IRI African Regional Director, Jenai Cox, said the delegation was in Nigeria as part of a pre-election assessment mission aimed at engaging political parties and other stakeholders on preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Cox said the team was assessing the political environment, the level of preparations by political parties and other factors that could shape the election.
He added that the delegation would share preliminary recommendations with stakeholders at the end of its visit.