INEC Suspends PVC Collection in Osun Ahead of August 15 Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Osun State ahead of the August 15, 2026 governorship election.

The commission announced the suspension in a statement issued on Saturday by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.

INEC said the decision would allow it to compile data on downloaded PVCs and finalise statistics on the total number of voters who have collected their cards ahead of the election.

The commission also announced that voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced PVCs have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print their downloadable cards.

According to INEC, the deadline is necessary to enable the commission to compile the number of downloaded PVCs and establish the final figure of collected voter cards in the state.

PVC collection in Osun began at the Registration Area level on July 22 and was initially scheduled to end on July 28. The exercise was later extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties encountered by voters at collection centres.

The collection subsequently moved to the local government level and continued from August 1 to 7.

INEC also disclosed that downloadable PVC replacements had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums reportedly invaded two collection centres and carted away PVCs.

The commission stressed that the stolen cards could not be used to vote and urged affected voters to obtain replacement downloadable copies before the deadline.

INEC assured residents that it remained prepared to conduct what it described as a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on August 15.

The Osun governorship election is expected to attract significant attention as political parties intensify their campaigns ahead of the poll.

INEC Extends Candidate Upload Deadline

In a related development, INEC has extended the deadline for political parties to upload their lists of candidates for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for the February 2027 General Election.

Haruna said the deadline, which was originally set for Saturday, August 8, has now been moved to Tuesday, August 11, following appeals from political parties for additional time to complete the process.