The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected calls for an extension of the deadline for political parties to submit their presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections.

INEC insisted that Saturday, July 11, remained the final day for submissions and warned that its automated nomination portal would close once the deadline expired.

The agency’s National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna said parties had until midnight to upload their candidates, stressing that the commission would not move the deadline.

Fourteen political parties had submitted at least some candidates as of Saturday, including the APC, PDP, Labour Party, ADC, SDP, APGA and YPP.

However, only nine parties had uploaded the names of their presidential candidates and running mates at the time of the update.

Haruna said the APC had submitted its presidential candidate and retained Kashim Shettima as running mate but had yet to complete its National Assembly submissions.

The PDP had also not uploaded its presidential and vice-presidential candidates as of about 8 p.m. on Saturday.

INEC had earlier warned parties to complete the process ahead of time because the nomination portal was fully automated and deadlines would be strictly enforced.

The commission said candidates whose names differed from those produced through primaries monitored by INEC would be rejected.

Haruna, however, explained that parties facing legitimate problems could seek candidate substitution under the electoral timetable.

He said failure to complete an upload would not automatically end a party’s participation, but any proposed replacement would be scrutinised to ensure compliance with the law.

Meanwhile, the Young Progressives Party called for an extension, blaming technical and administrative problems on INEC’s portal.

The party said similar challenges affected several political parties and warned that qualified candidates should not be denied participation because of system failures.

INEC’s timetable also provides a window for the withdrawal and replacement of presidential and National Assembly candidates before the final lists are published.