INEC denies NDC allegations of candidate substitution

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are engaged in a dispute regarding candidate nominations for the 2027 elections. The NDC alleges that INEC replaced its legitimate candidates for several State House of Assembly seats in Anambra and Benue states with unauthorized individuals. The party has demanded an electronic audit of the nomination portal to determine how these unknown names were uploaded, asserting that it did not submit the required Form EC9E documents for the disputed candidates.

INEC has rejected these claims, describing them as ‘unfounded.’ The commission maintains that candidate nomination is the exclusive responsibility of political parties and that it has no legal authority to substitute names. INEC stated it possesses the signed Form EC9E documents for the disputed candidates, which were submitted by the NDC’s National Chairman and National Secretary. The commission further noted that all 22 registered parties were provided with direct access codes to the nomination system to ensure transparency.

Separately, INEC is awaiting budget approvals to replace damaged Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for the 2027 polls. The commission also plans to conduct a mock presidential election to test the performance of the BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to address technical vulnerabilities identified during previous election cycles.