The Kerala State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday announced that the local body elections in the state will be held in two phases — on December 9 and 11 — with counting scheduled for December 13. 

The polls are widely viewed as a “semi-final” ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

State Election Commissioner A. Shahjahan said that all necessary arrangements have been completed and the Model Code of Conduct has come into force across the state.

The official notification for the polls will be issued on November 14, nominations can be filed until November 21, scrutiny will take place on November 22, and withdrawals will be accepted until November 24. Counting of votes will begin at 8 a.m. on December 13, with the entire election process expected to conclude by December 18, allowing new councils to assume office by December 21, when the current term ends.

Polling on December 9 will cover Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, and Ernakulam, while the second phase on December 11 will include Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts.

Elections will be conducted in 1,199 local bodies, excluding Mattannur Municipality, where voting will be held later. In total, 23,576 wards will go to polls, with 33,746 polling stations, 1,37,922 ballot units, and 50,691 control units being readied.

Shahjahan said around 1.8 lakh officials will be deployed for polling duties, supported by 70,000 police personnel, taking the total staff strength to nearly 2.5 lakh.

The final voters’ list, published on October 25, includes 1.33 crore men, 1.49 crore women, and 271 transgender persons. Malappuram has the highest number of voters (35.7 lakh), while Wayanad has the lowest (6.4 lakh).

The elections are expected to serve as a key test for the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which currently holds a dominant position, and for the United Democratic Front (UDF), seeking to regain ground. The BJP, meanwhile, aims to expand its presence, particularly in urban areas.

At present, the LDF governs five of the six corporations — Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Kollam — with the UDF in control of Kannur. The LDF also leads in 571 grama panchayats, 113 block panchayats, and 11 district panchayats, while the UDF holds 351 grama panchayats, 38 block panchayats, and three district panchayats. The NDA governs 12 grama panchayats, and Independents control seven.

Among municipalities, the LDF currently controls 44, the UDF 41, and the BJP two — Palakkad and Pandalam.

Political parties have already begun announcing their candidates. The UDF has named K.S. Sabarinadhan as its Mayoral nominee for Thiruvananthapuram, while the BJP has fielded former DGP R. Sreelekha and ex-Asian Games medalist Padmini Thomas, despite facing seat-sharing disagreements with ally BDJS. The CPI(M) is yet to announce its candidate list.

State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the elections give people an opportunity to “vote for change and a new Kerala.”

“Successive governments of the Left and Congress have been seen by all. Now is the time for the people to choose change,” he said, adding that the party’s full list of candidates will be announced soon.

Left convenor T.P. Ramakrishnan said the LDF is fully prepared for the elections, which he described as setting the stage for a third consecutive Left government in the state.

Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph expressed confidence that the UDF will “emerge victorious in these semi-finals.”