Kerala Local body polls 2025: SEC faces demand for postal ballots ahead of polls

With just two weeks left for the local body elections in Kerala, postal votes, or rather their absence, have come to the fore.

The State Election Commission (DSK), which administers local body elections, received numerous requests for postal ballots from both the government and civic groups ahead of the elections. It cannot be said that there are no postal ballots in local government elections. They are limited only to officials directly involved in the conduct of elections.

Unlike the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, which are administered by the Election Commission of India (EC), local polls do not have postal ballots for general voters or ward ballots or special ballots for vulnerable groups such as bedridden patients.

However, this did not stop different sections of people, including police personnel and Fire and Rescue Services personnel on duty at the Sabarimala temple, from approaching the commission with demands.

Rules under the law

“The Panchayat Raj Act and the Municipal Act allow postal votes only for officials on election duty,” said A. Shajahan, State Election Commission. Hindu. There are also logistical challenges in launching the facility, given the highly localized nature of elections to Panchayats, municipalities and corporations – compared to Assembly elections. According to him, the implementation of such a facility would require changes in laws.

Voting was done by mail in the 2020 local elections. However, this turned out to be a special case as the elections were held in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the guidelines issued by the Commission at the time, ‘special voters’ (COVID-19 patients and those quarantined) were divided into two groups. Voters who tested positive or went into quarantine within 10 days of the election and by 3pm the day before the election were included on the approved list.

These voters were given special mail-in ballots. The second group, who tested positive or were quarantined after 3pm the previous day and until the end of voting, were allowed to visit voting booths directly after other voters had left.

On the other hand, the European Commission has a different system. For example, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, voters over 85 years of age and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) could opt for the facility of voting from home.

An amendment to the Rules for the Conduct of Elections, 1961, increased the minimum age of senior citizens eligible to vote by post from 80 to 85 years. In the case of voters with disabilities, 40% or more voters with disabilities were able to choose this opportunity.

The 2025 local elections in Kerala are scheduled to be held in two phases on December 9 and December 11.

On Sunday, the State Election Commission announced that the distribution of postal votes to officials on election duty will begin on November 26.

Tiger census rescheduling: CPI

Communist Party of India (CPI) State Secretary Binoy Viswam demanded rescheduling of the tiger census, stating that the current schedule prevents the Forest department officials from exercising their voting rights.

The census is currently scheduled to end on December 8. The first phase elections in Kerala will be held on December 9. Mr. Viswam said it would be difficult for officers on census duty to return from forest districts on December 8 and vote the next day. He said that he wrote a letter to the President of the Forest Force and the SEC expressing this demand.