Residents across Kerala will participate in the local body elections on December 9 and December 11, as announced by the State Election Commission. The anticipation builds towards December 13, when the votes will be counted and the new local representatives determined.
The polling districts are strategically divided. The first day, December 9, will see voting in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, and Ernakulam. The second phase on December 11 will cover the remaining districts: Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod.
Across the state, 1,199 local bodies are participating in these elections. Ward boundaries have been redrawn, increasing the total number of wards to 23,612 from 21,900. Voting will be held in 23,576 of these wards, with Mattannur’s wards excluded due to an ongoing term.
The election timeline includes November 21 as the final date for nomination submissions. Nomination scrutiny is scheduled for November 22, and candidates have until November 24 to withdraw their nominations. To maintain the integrity of the electoral process, measures will be in place to address misinformation, with a special committee overseeing this. The final voter list will be published on November 14, and voting hours are set from 7 am to 6 pm on both polling days.