Kerala local body elections: 22.54 lakh voters to exercise franchise in Kollam

All preparations for local body elections in the region have been completed as polling is scheduled on December 9 in 1,698 constituencies/districts in 85 Local Self-Government Institutions, including 68 grama panchayats, 11 block panchayats, four municipalities, Kollam Corporation and district panchayats. Public campaigns officially ended at 18:00 on December 7. According to the final voter list, there are a total of 22,54,848 voters in the district, including 10,43,920 men, 12,10,905 women, 23 transgender voters and 48 foreigners.

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for grama panchayats are configured with a control unit and three voting units. These three ballot papers placed in the voting chamber are arranged in the order of grama panchayat, block panchayat and district panchayat. There will be a control unit and a ballot box unit for Municipalities and Companies. Each voting unit can have a maximum of 15 candidates. A total of 7,422 ballot boxes and 2,730 control units were secured in ballot boxes, and reserve units were kept ready for deployment.

A total of 13,056 officials were assigned for election duty, including 3,264 chairmen, 3,264 first polling officers and 6,528 polling officers. 4,016 of the personnel are men and 9,040 are women. Each polling booth will be manned by a team of four, comprising a chairperson, a first polling officer and two polling officers. There are 2,720 voting centers in 1,698 districts, and 16 centers have been designated for distribution, collection of election materials and counting of votes.

Distribution of voting materials will begin at 08:00 on December 8. A total of 1,161 vehicles, including buses, minibuses, cars and jeeps, will be opened to transportation. For security purposes, web broadcasting facilities were arranged for 61 sensitive voting booths. At 06:00 on the voting day, mock voting will be held in the relevant voting centers with the participation of political party representatives. Official voting hours will be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.