While the rest of Kerala gears up for the local body elections, Mattannur municipality and Kannur Cantonment stand apart, untouched by the election buzz. Mattannur is exempt as its governing council has two more years left in its term, while residents of the Kannur Cantonment do not have voting rights in local body polls.
Campaigning is at its peak in Kannur district, which goes to the polls on December 11, 2025, but Mattannur remains outside the fray. The municipality will have to wait two more years before facing the ballot. The council elected in 2022 will remain in office until September 2027, placing Mattannur outside the 2025 election cycle.
A long-running legal dispute dating back to 1990 continues to shape Mattannur’s electoral timeline. The area was upgraded from panchayat to municipality during the E.K. Nayanar government, but the subsequent United Democratic Front (UDF) government reversed the decision, and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) later restored it. As a result, Mattannur held its local election only in 1997, two years after the rest of the State. This cycle has since kept it out of sync with Statewide polls. Despite the lack of voting this year, local leaders remain active in campaign work for nearby constituencies.
After the 2025 delimitation, Mattannur now comprises 35 divisions. When it goes to the polls in 2027, the municipality is expected to draw Statewide attention.
In the heart of the Kannur Corporation lies a zone without campaign vehicles, door-to-door canvassing or election materials. Though geographically part of the Corporation, the area is governed by the Kannur Cantonment Board under the Defence Ministry.
Residents here can vote in Parliamentary and Assembly elections but are excluded from local body polls. Instead, they vote once every five years to elect representatives to the Cantonment Board. According to the 2011 Census, the area has a population of 4,798, of whom 1,867 are civilians and the rest are serving defence personnel.
Six electoral wards exist within the Cantonment limits. Civilians vote to elect six board members, who serve alongside six nominated military officers. The Military Commandant functions as the president of the Board, while the vice-president is chosen from the elected civilian members. Though the Board provides functions similar to other local bodies, it operates independently of the State government. Its revenue comes mainly from property tax, professional tax, and central grants.
The last Cantonment Board election was held in 2015. After its term ended in 2020, it received a one-year extension. Though the Centre issued a notification for elections in 2023, the process was later put on hold, leaving the Board without an elected body since 2021.
Published – December 07, 2025 07:28 pm IST
