Thiruvananthapuram: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala by one week, with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date.

Under the revised schedule, the enumeration period will now continue until December 18, with the draft electoral roll to be published on December 23. Claims and objections can be submitted from December 23 to January 22, 2026, and the final electoral roll will be published on February 21, 2026.

The decision follows a request from the Kerala government, citing the upcoming local body polls that limited the availability of party workers for the revision process. The request was considered after the Supreme Court allowed the state to submit reasons for extending the last date for submission of enumeration forms.

Chief Electoral Officer, Dr Rathan U Kelkar, said over 95 per cent of the enumeration forms have already been digitised, with full digitisation expected by December 11. BLO-BLA meetings to verify absent, shifted and duplicate entries are ongoing and scheduled to conclude by December 7.

The ECI emphasised that the extension will allow voters sufficient time to submit claims and objections, ensuring a comprehensive and accurate electoral roll ahead of upcoming elections.

Earlier, the Election Commission revised the SIR schedule, extending the deadline for digitising enumeration forms to December 11 and postponing the publication of the draft electoral roll to December 16, following concerns raised by several states, including Kerala. Political parties and Booth Level Officers had also flagged the excessive workload and logistical challenges, prompting the Commission to push back key deadlines to ensure the process is completed accurately and without disrupting the ongoing elections.