The elections of the members of the standing committees of local bodies in the State will be held from January 5 to January 7, State Election Commissioner (SEC) A. Shajahan said on Sunday (December 28, 2025). Once the members are elected, the chaipersons of the committees will be elected.
Grama panchayats and block panchayats have four standing committees: finance, development, welfare, and health and education. District panchayats have five committees: finance, development, works, welfare, and health and education.
In the municipalities, members will be elected to six panels, viz., finance, development, welfare, health, works, and education and arts/sports. The six Corporations have eight committees: finance, development, welfare, health, works, town planning, tax appeal, and education and sports.
In the grama panchayats and blocks, the returning officers of the local bodies concerned will conduct the elections of the members and the chaipersons of the committees. In the Corporations and district panchayats, the Additional District Magistrate is the returning officer. The SEC has also appointed returning officers for the municipalities.
One seat each in all committees including finance has been reserved for women. The SEC has also issued a notification on the reserved seats for women in the chairpersons’ posts. Elections will be first held to the reserved posts.
If the number of candidates exceeds the number of posts, a preferential voting mechanism will be employed, the SEC said.
Published – December 28, 2025 06:53 pm IST
