Counting of votes in Kerala local body elections to be held on December 13

Counting of votes in the elections for the local bodies in the State, with the sole exception of Mattannur municipality, will be held on December 13, with the intial results available around 8.30 a.m.

As many as 23,573 wards across 1,199 local bodies, including 14 district panchayats, six corporations, 86 municipalities and 941 grama panchayats, will have their new representatives elected when counting is conducted at 244 stations. Postal ballots will be counted at the district collectorates.

Trends and results will be avilable at https://trend.sec.kerala.gov.in.

According to the State Election Commission, 73.69% of voters cast their votes in the elections this time, with Pathanamthitta district recording the lowest voter turnout (66.78%). Wayanad posted the highest voter turnout (78.29%). There was a slump in voter participation given that the local body elections held amid the pandemic in 2020 witnessed a voter turnout of 75.95% while it was 77.76% in 2015.

But the number of voters who voted was the highest ever (2,107,9609) this time. Among the municipal corporations, Thiruvananthapuram recorded the lowest polling percentage at 58.29% while Kannur witnessed the highest turnout at 70.33%.

Ahead of assembly polls

Widely believed to be an indicator of the political climate ahead of the assembly polls a few months down the line, the electioneering witnessed all the three fronts hauling one another over issues ranging from corruption to women’s safety and sluggish development.

In the 2020 elections, the LDF clinched five of the six Corporations, 44 of the 87 municipalities (including the Mattannur municipality in Kannur where elections were held in 2022), over 500 of the 941 grama panchayats, over 100 of the 152 block panchayats and 11 of the 14 district panchayats.