The Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) has announced an amended timetable for the 2026 local government elections, shifting key pre-election activities and reaffirming a new election date. The announcement was made by the Chairman of the Commission, Hon. Plangji Daniel Cishak, during a press briefing held on Thursday, January 9, 2026, at the Commission’s headquarters in Jos.
Cishak noted that the initial notice of election was issued on September 4, 2025, in line with Section 33(1) of the PLASIEC Law 2024. According to him, the adjustments were based on legal, administrative, and operational considerations aimed at ensuring a credible, inclusive, and well-coordinated electoral process.
Under the revised timetable, party primaries will now hold from Saturday, March 7 to Thursday, March 12, 2026, replacing the earlier schedule of January 12–30, 2026. Collection of nomination forms by political parties at the PLASIEC headquarters has also been shifted from February 2–6, 2026, to March 13–17, 2026, in accordance with Sections 34 and 35 of the PLASIEC Law 2024.
Submission of completed nomination forms will now take place between Wednesday, March 18 and Thursday, March 19, 2026, rather than the initial February 9–March 2 timeline, as provided under Section 35 of the PLASIEC Law and Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The publication of personal particulars of candidates, earlier slated for March 7, will now be done on March 21, 2026, in line with Section 35(3) of the PLASIEC Law and Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act. The screening of chairmanship candidates and their running mates has been rescheduled from March 11–12 to March 23–24, 2026, while the screening of councillorship candidates will now take place from March 25–28, 2026, instead of March 13–16. All screenings will be conducted in compliance with Sections 39 and 42 of the PLASIEC Law.
Following the screenings, the publication of the list of cleared candidates will now be made on March 30, 2026, instead of March 19. Appeals will be received on March 31, and hearings concluded on April 1, 2026, as earlier provided under the law.
The final list of nominated candidates will be released on April 9, 2026, replacing the previous March 30 date, in line with Section 35 of the PLASIEC Law and Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act. Campaigns by political parties in public will officially commence on April 11, 2026, as against the earlier March 31 date, in compliance with Section 81 of the PLASIEC Law and Section 94 of the Electoral Act.
However, certain timelines remain unchanged. The last day for withdrawal or replacement of candidates by political parties remains May 30, 2026, while the replacement of withdrawn candidates will take place on June 13, followed by the screening, collection, and submission of substituted nomination forms between June 15 and June 17, 2026.
The publication of the official register of voters remains scheduled for July 21, 2026, while political parties are expected to submit names and addresses of polling agents to the Commission by August 12, 2026. The publication of the Notice of Poll will hold on August 17, 2026.
Campaigns will end by midnight on Monday, September 7, 2026, after which elections will be conducted across the 17 local government councils on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., in accordance with Section 33 of the PLASIEC Law 2024.
PLASIEC reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and stakeholder engagement, urging political parties, security agencies, civil society groups, and the media to cooperate toward ensuring peaceful and credible elections in 2026.
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