The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced March 11, 2026, as the official commencement date for political campaigns ahead of forthcoming governorship election in Osun State.
The Osun INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Mutiu Agboke, disclosed this while responding to questions from journalists during an expanded stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Commission to mark the start of the second phase of the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise in Osogbo on Monday.
According to Agboke, the campaign timeline would be formally communicated to political actors in line with existing Electoral Act and guidelines.
“By God’s grace, full campaign activities will commence on March 11, 2026. We will still meet with stakeholders, especially political parties, to brief them appropriately,” he said.
He explained that the Commission would outline campaign protocols to guide political parties throughout the process.
“We are going to roll out the protocols and conduct of political parties in line with the Electoral Act, as the relevant sections are there to guide everyone,” Agboke stated.
The Osun INEC boss emphasised the need for collective responsibility in achieving credible electoral processes in the state.
Reflecting on previous engagements, Agboke said collaboration played a major role in the success of the first phase of the CVR.
“We want cooperation, understanding and proper togetherness in the execution of INEC activities. The first phase was successful because INEC and stakeholders came together beforehand to identify grey areas,” he said.
He noted that a similar approach was being adopted for the second phase in order to consolidate earlier gains.
“As we commence the second phase of the CVR, we believe building on the progress already made will lead to another success,” he said.
Agboke also revealed plans to rotate registration equipment across communities to improve access for prospective voters.
“Now we are going to start rotation of the CVR, where the IVES will be taken to communities for the registrants to participate.
“The stakeholders agreed with us on this assuring that they will participate and they have also shown their readiness to cooperate and ensure the success of the exercise,” he concluded.
