TryVote is an unofficial voting simulation, but the names on a mock ballot still need to be handled carefully. A missing candidate, wrong party label or outdated nomination can distort a state result even when everyone understands that the result is not an official election.
That is why the 2027 governorship ballot currently uses two visible status labels: INEC EC9 and PROVISIONAL.
As of 1 September 2026, TryVote has completed candidate-by-candidate reconciliation for 10 of the 28 states holding a governorship election in the 2027 general-election cycle. The other 18 states remain clearly labelled provisional while their complete fields are checked.
What “INEC EC9” Means on TryVote
INEC displayed the personal particulars submitted for governorship candidates and their running mates in Form EC9 at state offices at the end of August. Form EC9 is an important statutory publication because it shows the candidates and particulars submitted to the Commission.
When TryVote marks a state INEC EC9, it means we have reconciled the complete state field we are using against the current EC9 publication and supporting source material. It does not mean the field is INEC's final candidate list.
Candidate withdrawals, lawful substitutions, litigation or later INEC amendments can still change the field. When INEC publishes the final governorship candidate list, TryVote will run another reconciliation before calling any governorship record final.
What “PROVISIONAL” Means
A provisional state is not a guess disguised as an official list. It is a clearly labelled working ballot assembled from the strongest current nomination and EC9 reporting available to TryVote while the complete state field is still being verified.
The label is deliberately visible beside the governor picker. It tells participants that the choices may still be corrected, expanded or replaced as stronger evidence becomes available.
This matters because some state-office publications are easier to transcribe than others. In several states, current reporting confirms the total number of candidates but does not reproduce every party-and-candidate pairing. TryVote does not promote a state to EC9-complete simply because a headline count is available.
Why We Do Not Wait Until Every State Is Perfect
There are two reasonable approaches to an evolving nomination period: hide all governor voting until every field is final, or allow participation while making the data status unmistakable. TryVote currently uses the second approach.
The public ballot therefore separates the fully reconciled EC9 states from the remaining provisional states. That lets the simulation remain useful while preserving an audit trail and making uncertainty visible rather than pretending it does not exist.
It also allows us to correct one state without disturbing the presidential simulation or the governor results of unrelated states.
What Happens When We Find a Material Correction?
TryVote does not transfer one candidate's earlier governor votes to a different person simply because a name or party record changes.
For a material provisional-ballot correction, the affected state can be moved to a new ballot version. The older governor counters remain isolated in the database, while the corrected field starts with its own candidate identifiers. Presidential votes are unaffected.
That process has already been used during the 1 September reconciliation work for provisional fields where stronger post-display evidence required corrections. The purpose is simple: preserve the historical record without pretending that an old vote for one listed person should count for somebody else.
Why There Are Only 28 Governorship States in This Round
Nigeria has 36 states, but eight states have off-cycle governorship elections and therefore do not elect a governor during the 2027 general-election governorship round. They are Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun.
The Federal Capital Territory also has no state governorship ballot. Nigerians outside Nigeria can participate in TryVote's presidential simulation through the separate Diaspora option, but that option does not include a governor choice.
What Participants Should Look For
- INEC EC9: TryVote has reconciled the complete current state field against the EC9 publication and supporting evidence.
- PROVISIONAL: the state field is still being reconciled and may change.
- Off-cycle / not applicable: there is no 2027 general-election governor ballot for that location.
Whichever label you see, remember that TryVote itself is unofficial. The simulation does not conduct an INEC election, determine eligibility, replace a real ballot or predict the official result.
What Comes Next
The immediate task is to complete the remaining state-by-state EC9 reconciliation while continuing to correct any material provisional record supported by stronger evidence.
Under the revised 2027 timetable reported from INEC, the governorship and State House of Assembly final candidate list is due later in the nomination cycle. When that final publication is available, every TryVote governor field will need one more comparison before the status can move from EC9/provisional language to final-list language.
Election data changes. The responsible way to handle that is not to hide the change — it is to show the status, preserve the audit trail and correct the ballot when the evidence improves.
Methodology note: TryVote results reflect voluntary participation on this platform. They are not scientific opinion polls, election forecasts or official election results. TryVote Nigeria is independent and not affiliated with INEC.
Reviewed 1 September 2026. Candidate status remains time-sensitive until INEC publishes the final lists and any later lawful amendments are resolved.
