Kerala has 2,86,62,712 registered voters, according to updated figures released by the State Election Commission on Sunday ahead of the upcoming local body polls. The total number of voters includes 1,35,16,923 men, 1,51,45,500 women, and 289 transgender voters. The Commission also said that 3,745 non-resident voters are on the electoral rolls.

The updated numbers follow the incorporation of a supplementary voters’ list, which added 2,66,679 new voters and removed 34,745 names, the Commission said in a statement.

The list has been published ahead of the two-phase local body elections scheduled in the state on December 9 and 11. Polling will be held on December 9 in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Idukki and Ernakulam. Voters in Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod will cast their votes on December 11. Counting of votes will take place on December 13, the Commission said.

Use of AI in election campaigns
State Election Commissioner A Shahjahan said on Sunday that strict monitoring will be enforced on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in election campaigns. He warned of stringent action against the creation or dissemination of fake images, manipulated audio, deepfakes, misinformation, content denigrating women, the use of children for propaganda, and material promoting violence against animals. If such content is found or reported on a political party’s official social media platforms, it must be removed within three hours. 

The Commission said any AI-generated or digitally altered campaign content must be clearly labelled as “AI Generated,” “Digitally Enhanced,” or “Synthetic Content.” It also directed political parties to maintain internal records of all AI-generated campaign materials, including details of the creator and the date of creation.

Shahjahan urged all candidates, parties, and campaigners to ensure the credibility and fairness of the election by avoiding the misuse of technology. All provisions in the IT Act, 2000; IT (Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021; Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; and the Model Code of Conduct must be strictly followed while creating or distributing content.