Kerala local body elections 2025 to be held in two phases on December 9 and 11.
Counting of votes will take place on December 13 across multiple centres.
Nominations can be filed until November 21, with 23,576 wards up for election.
The 2025 local body elections in Kerala will be conducted in two phases, on December 9 and December 11, with vote counting scheduled for December 13, State Election Commissioner A. Shajahan announced in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday (November 10, 2025), according to The Hindu.
Polling in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Ernakulam will take place on December 9, while Thrissur, Malappuram, Wayanad, Palakkad, Kannur, Kasaragod and Kozhikode will vote on December 11, The Hindu reported. Votes will be counted from 8 a.m. at multiple counting centres across the state.
Nominations for candidates can be submitted until November 21, with scrutiny of papers on November 22. The final date for withdrawal of nominations is November 24.
“With the announcement of the schedule, the model code of conduct has come into force in the State. The code will be strictly enforced,” Mr. Shajahan said. Polling will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a mock poll is scheduled one hour before the start of voting.
Elections will be held for 1,199 of Kerala’s 1,200 local bodies. Following a delimitation exercise, the total number of wards across these local bodies has increased to 23,612, with the 2025 polls covering 23,576 wards. The 36 wards of Mattannur municipality in Kannur will not vote until September 2027, The Hindu reported.
The elections will cover 17,337 wards in grama panchayats, 2,267 in block panchayats, 346 in district panchayats, 3,205 in municipalities, and 421 in corporations. There are 33,746 polling stations: 28,127 in panchayats, 3,604 in municipalities, and 2,015 in corporations. Voter allocation per station has been fixed at 1,200 in panchayats and 1,500 in municipalities and corporations.
First-level checks have been completed on 1,37,922 ballot units and 50,693 control units, Mr. Shajahan said.
Kerala has over 2.84 crore voters. The Election Commission had allowed additional enrolment on November 4 and 5, with the supplementary voter list to be published on November 14. The 2025 local body elections coincide with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ roll ahead of the 2026 State Assembly elections. The Kerala government and major political parties, including the CPI(M) and Congress, had opposed the SIR, citing “the confusion and inconvenience” with respect to local body poll arrangements.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
