THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Election Commission has postponed to October 1 the date of publication of the final voters' list for the upcoming local body elections. As per the earlier schedule, the final voters' list was supposed to be published on September 26.
The postponement is due to the shutting down of some local bodies after employees tested postive for COVID-19, the State Election Commission informed. The draft voters' list was published on August 12 and the process of rectifying errors and enrolling new voters is currently underway.
Elections are due to 941 gram panchyats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 86 municipalities and six municipal corporations. The terms of the present councils in various local bodies expires on November 11. However, due to the COVID pandemic, an all-party meeting had urged the state election commission to postpone the polls for a 'brief period' but not indefinitely.
The state poll panel had earlier announced that the final dates of the elections will be decided after thorough discussions with various stakeholders including the police and health departments.