The Kerala Local Self-Government Department has issued a circular directing that in local bodies where the term of the governing committee ends on December 20, 2025, all newly elected members and councillors must take an oath or affirmation and assume office on December 21.

The decision follows a request from the State Election Commission to fix uniform dates for administering the oath to newly elected members and to issue instructions on procedures to be followed after counting and declaration of results. The circular notes that the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, and the rules framed under them already outline the procedures to be followed after the announcement of results in local body elections, and the new directions have been issued in accordance with these provisions.

For certain local bodies - all in Malappuram - whose terms do not expire on December 20, separate oath-taking dates have been fixed. These include Wandoor Block Panchayat on December 22, Chokkad Grama Panchayat on December 26, Thrikkalangodu Grama Panchayat on January 16, and Mangalam, Vettom, Thirunavaya, Makkaraparamba grama panchayats and Tirur Block Panchayat on February 1, 2026.

According to the circular, the first elected member in each district, block and gram panchayat will be administered the oath by electoral officers designated by the State Election Commission and nominated by the government. In municipal councils, the oath will be administered by government-nominated electoral officers, while in municipal corporations it will be administered by the respective District Collectors.

Assistant Directors of the Local Self-Government Department will make arrangements in gram panchayats, Deputy Directors in block panchayats, and the secretaries of municipal councils and corporations in urban local bodies. The District Joint Director will supervise these arrangements, and the District Collectors will oversee the overall conduct of the ceremonies.

Among the elected members of each local body, the officials assigned for the purpose must identify the eldest member and issue a written notice asking them to be present on the specified date to take the first oath or affirmation. Written notices must also be issued to all other elected members asking them to attend the ceremony.

The oath-taking must be conducted at 10 am in grama panchayats, block panchayats, district panchayats and municipal councils, and at 11.30 am in municipal corporations. After the eldest member takes the oath, they will administer the oath to all remaining elected members.

Immediately after the oath-taking, the elected members must convene their first meeting and have the member who took the first oath preside. At this meeting, the secretary of the local body will read out the notification issued by the State Election Commission specifying the date and time for the election of the President, Chairperson or Mayor and their deputies.

Elections to the posts of President and Vice-President in panchayats will be conducted by electoral officers designated by the Election Commission, while officers nominated by the government will conduct elections to the posts of municipal chairperson and deputy chairperson. In municipal corporations, the District Collectors will conduct the polls. The results must be reported to both the government and the Election Commission.

The first phase of polling in the local body elections was held on December 9, and the second phase is scheduled for December 11.