All preparations for the local body elections in the district is complete as polling is scheduled for December 9 across 1,698 constituencies/wards in 85 Local Self-Government Institutions, including 68 grama panchayats, 11 block panchayats, four municipalities, Kollam Corporation, and the district panchayats. Public campaigning officially concluded at 6 p.m. on December 7. According to the final voters’ list, the district has a total of 22,54,848 voters, comprising 10,43,920 men, 12,10,905 women, 23 transgender voters, and 48 expatriates.
The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for grama panchayats are configured with one control unit and three ballot units. These three ballot units, placed in the voting compartment, are arranged in the order of grama panchayat, block panchayat, and district panchayat. For municipalities and Corporation, there will be one control unit and one ballot unit. Each ballot unit can accommodate up to 15 candidates. A total of 7,422 ballot units and 2,730 control units have been secured in strong rooms, with reserve units also kept ready for deployment.
A total of 13,056 officials have been deployed for election duty, comprising 3,264 presiding officers, 3,264 first polling officers, and 6,528 polling officers. The staff includes 4,016 men and 9,040 women. Each polling booth will be managed by a four-member team, which consists of one presiding officer, one first polling officer, and two polling officers. There are 2,720 polling stations across the 1,698 wards, and 16 centers have been designated for the distribution and collection of election material and for the counting of votes.
The distribution of polling material will commence on December 8 at 8 a.m. A total of 1,161 vehicles, including buses, minibuses, cars, and jeeps, will be made available for transport. For security, webcasting facilities have been arranged for 61 sensitive polling booths. On the polling day a mock poll will be conducted at 6 a.m. in the presence of political party representatives at their respective polling stations. The official voting time will be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Published – December 07, 2025 06:49 pm IST
