Thiruvananthapuram: State Election Commissioner A. Shajahan has announced that the lottery for determining reservation of wards in local bodies across Kerala, ahead of the upcoming local body general elections, will be held between October 13 and 21, 2025.
He was speaking at a meeting of district collectors convened by the State Election Commission on September 23 to review the election preparedness.
As per the schedule, district collectors are authorized to conduct the lottery for ward reservations in the three-tier panchayat system.
- Gram Panchayats: October 13–16
- Block Panchayats: October 18
- District Panchayats: October 21
For municipalities, the lottery will be conducted by the respective Joint Directors of the Local Self-Government Department on October 16.
For municipal corporations:
- Thiruvananthapuram & Kollam: October 17 (by Urban Director, Thiruvananthapuram)
- Thrissur & Kochi: October 18 (Kochi)
- Kozhikode & Kannur: October 21 (Kozhikode)
The commission will soon publish an official notification with detailed dates and venues.
The Commissioner directed collectors to complete all preparatory activities—such as restructuring of polling stations, training of officials, ward reservations, and voter list revisions—on time. He also confirmed that the voter list will be updated again before the elections, with the schedule to be announced later.
Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers have already been appointed, and the notification is available on the Commission’s website (www.sec.kerala.gov.in). Their training will take place between October 7 and 10 at various district centers.
Additional training schedules:
- Local body secretaries: September 26 (online)
- District-level officials: September 25
- Master trainers: September 29–30 (Thiruvananthapuram)
To ensure smooth election duties, the Commission has instructed the Chief Secretary to impose a ban on government staff transfers starting October 3.
The Commissioner further emphasized that all election activities must follow green protocols, utilizing the services of Kudumbashree, Haritha Karma Sena, and Clean Kerala Company.
The online review meeting was attended by district collectors, State Election Commission Secretary B.S. Prakash, and other officials.
