INEC Adds SDP Candidate to Osun Ballot After Federal High Court Order

A Court-Ordered Addition Days to the Poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission has updated the ballot for the Osun State governorship election holding on 15 August, adding the Social Democratic Party candidate, Dr Francis Olugbenga Ajala, and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, to the list of contestants. INEC had initially left the SDP off the ballot altogether, a decision rooted in an internal leadership and primary election dispute within the party over who held the authority to nominate its rightful governorship candidate. The commission confirmed the reversal in a statement issued on 12 August by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, bringing the total number of parties on the Osun ballot to fifteen.

INEC said the decision followed a binding Federal High Court judgment delivered in Abuja on 22 July in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2026, brought by the SDP and Ajala against the commission. The court held that INEC's earlier refusal to recognise the party's candidate was improper and directed the commission to forthwith recognise, accept, upload, process and publish Ajala's name and particulars as SDP's governorship candidate. INEC stated plainly that its compliance was made in strict obedience to that judgment rather than as a discretionary decision.

Racing Against the Clock

To give practical effect to the court order this close to election day, INEC confirmed that sensitive materials, specifically ballot papers and official result sheets, are being reproduced to reflect the SDP's inclusion. The commission said the modified materials are scheduled to arrive in Osun State on 13 August, after which they will be deployed to INEC offices across all thirty local government areas ahead of Saturday's vote, in line with its standard distribution procedure.

The tight timeline underscores the logistical pressure that late-stage court orders can place on election administration. Security agencies have separately confirmed the deployment of over twenty-five thousand personnel for the exercise, while the Inter-Party Advisory Council has voiced concern over rising tension in the state ahead of polling, urging INEC and security agencies to ensure the process remains free and fair.

Why It Matters

For law students following electoral jurisprudence, this case is a live example of how quickly a Federal High Court judgment can reshape an active election cycle, and of the practical machinery INEC must activate once bound by such an order. For practicing lawyers handling political party registration and candidacy disputes, the case reinforces that courts retain the power to compel INEC's compliance even within days of polling, a precedent worth citing in future urgent applications involving ballot access.