Thiruvananthapuram: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday extended by one week the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) schedule for Kerala in view of the upcoming local body elections in the state. The local body polls will be held in two phases on December 9 and 11, with counting of votes scheduled for December 13.
The commission’s decision followed a request from Kerala, made under the liberty granted by the Supreme Court, seeking more time for submission of enumeration forms and completion of other procedures under the SIR of the electoral roll. The apex court’s December 2 order came on a plea filed by Indian Union Muslim League national general secretary and Kerala MLA P K Kunhalikutty, who sought an extension of the SIR schedule in the state.
As per the revised timeline, the draft electoral roll will now be published on December 23 instead of December 16, while the final electoral roll will be brought out on February 21, 2026, in place of the earlier date of February 14, 2026. The last date for digitisation of enumeration forms has also been pushed to December 18.
The ECI order was issued after a meeting with the Kerala chief secretary and the state’s chief electoral officer, during which the state’s submissions were considered. “The Commission, after carefully taking due note of the submission made by the Chief Secretary and Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala, has decided to revise the SIR schedule for the state of Kerala by extending the relevant dates by one week,” the order said.
The latest revision comes just days after the ECI had, on November 30, extended the SIR schedule by one week across the country.
(Inputs from PTI)