INEC Ad Hoc Staff Recruitment 2026/2027: INECPRES Portal, Requirements and How to Apply

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) opened its ad hoc staff recruitment portal at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, 18 September 2026, and applications close at midnight on Wednesday, 18 November 2026.

The commission announced the exercise in a public notice issued on Thursday, 17 September, and it applies to the 2027 general elections.

The scale is large. INEC has said it needs about 1.4 million temporary personnel for the Presidential and National Assembly elections on 16 January 2027 and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections on 6 February 2027. Registration runs through the INEC Portal for Recruitment of Election Staff, known as INECPRES.

Who is eligible, which positions are on offer, and what do you need before you start? The notice answers some of this and leaves other points open. Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and how to apply without falling for a fake portal.

Overview

About INEC

INEC is the national body that organises elections in Nigeria. It is currently led by Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan.

Each election needs far more people than the commission employs permanently, so it recruits temporary staff through INECPRES, the portal it has used since 2019 for registering, screening and deploying ad hoc personnel.

This is a different exercise from INEC’s permanent staff recruitment. The permanent staff portal at recruitment.inecnigeria.org ran from 20 to 27 July 2026 and has closed. Ad hoc work is short-term election duty, not a permanent job.

Starting Date

INECPRES opened on 18 September 2026. The commission has run ad hoc windows ahead of earlier elections, including one for the FCT Area Council election that ran from 29 December 2025 to 19 January 2026, and one for the Ekiti State governorship election that closed on 18 May 2026. The current window is the one for the 2027 general elections.

Available Positions

• Supervisory Presiding Officers
• Presiding Officers
• Assistant Presiding Officers
• Registration Area Centre Managers
• Registration Area Technical Support personnel

Eligibility Requirements

Who Can Apply

INEC listed these categories of eligible applicants:

• Federal public servants and civil servants
• Serving and former National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members
• Tertiary students
• Relevant staff of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs)
• Heads of schools hosting Registration Area Centres
• INEC ICT personnel
• Qualified IT students

Eligible applicants must register through the commission’s portal and meet the criteria for their preferred position. Select a position that matches your category.

Required Documents

According to the commission’s notice, applications require:

• A functional email address and phone number
• A personal bank account
• A recent passport photograph
• Valid staff or student identification, where applicable
• NYSC call-up information, for eligible corps members
• Qualification documents
• A valid means of identification

Step-by-Step Application Process for INEC Ad Hoc Staff Recruitment

1. Visit the INECPRES portal at pres.inecnigeria.org, or reach it through the official INEC website, inecnigeria.org.
2. Read the instructions and the eligibility requirements for the available positions.
3. Select the position you are eligible for.
4. Complete the registration details.
5. Enter your personal, educational and employment information accurately.
6. Provide the required supporting information.
7. Review everything before you submit.
8. Submit the application.
9. Save or screenshot your registration or application details for later use.

Important Dates and Deadlines