Thiruvananthapuram: The swearing-in of candidates elected in the Kerala local body elections will take place on December 21. While the oath-taking ceremony will be held at 10 am in grama panchayats, block panchayats, district panchayats, and municipalities, it will take place at 11.30 am in corporations.

The senior-most elected member will be the first to take the oath. In corporations and district panchayats, the oath of office will be administered by district collectors. In gram panchayats and block panchayats, the respective returning officers are assigned for this ceremony. In municipalities, the ceremony will be conducted by designated government officers.

After taking the oath, the senior-most member will administer the oath of office to the other elected members.

Following the oath-taking ceremony, a meeting presided over by the senior member will be held. During the meeting, the secretary of the local body will announce the schedule for the election of the president and vice-president.

Mayor, chairperson elections on Dec 26
The meetings to elect mayors in corporations and chairpersons in municipalities will be held on December 26 at 10.30 am. In the local body polls held on December 9, the BJP-led NDA came to power in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. Meanwhile, the UDF won Kannur, Thrissur, Kochi, and Kollam corporations, while the LDF retained power only in Kozhikode Corporation.

The election of deputy mayors in the six corporations and deputy chairpersons in 87 municipalities will be held on December 26 at 2.30 pm.

Meanwhile, the elections for presidents of district and block panchayats will take place on December 27 at 10.30 am, followed by the election of vice-presidents at 2.30 pm.

Deadline to submit poll expenditure details
The Kerala State Election Commission has directed all candidates who contested the local body elections to submit details of their election expenditure by January 12.

Candidates must log in to the election expenditure module on the commission’s website — www.sec.kerala.gov.in

 — for this purpose. Those unable to submit the details online may submit bills, receipts, vouchers, and other expenditure-related documents directly to the Commission. The details must include all expenses incurred from the date of filing nominations to the declaration of results.

Candidates who fail to submit their expenditure statements will either be disqualified or barred from contesting elections for five years.

The expenditure limits for candidates are as follows:
Grama panchayat: ₹25,000
Block panchayat / Municipality: ₹75,000
Corporation / District panchayat: ₹1,50,000