Thiruvananthapuram : The State Election Commission is set to announce dates to local body elections soon. The Commission will hold talks with state police chief over security arrangements on Monday. The number of poll phases will be determined based on availability of police personnel for deployment. After consulting DGP, the Commission will discuss matters with Chief Secretary before announcing the poll dates.
Elections to the various local self-government institutions are expected to take place before 10 Dec given that, the incumbent governing committees expire their term on 11 Nov and have to be mandatorily replaced in one month thence. The voter list reviews are slated to complete this Saturday.
The Commission is currently scrutinising the list to come up with the final voters list. Covid protocols would be strictly observed. The Commission will issue guidelines for campaign and elections to ensure this. In any case, no kind of gathering would be allowed all through. There is no ban on home-visits though some curbs apply. The Commission has asked state govt for more financial assistance with view to additional expenses arising out of prevalent covid conditions.
