Panchayat President, Vice President Elections Across State on Saturday

Thiruvananthapuram: Elections to the posts of president and vice president in the three-tier panchayats across the state will be held on Saturday. The election for president will take place at 10.30 am, and the vice president election at 2.30 pm. If there is more than one candidate, voting will be conducted through an open ballot.

If two candidates receive an equal number of votes, the winner will be decided by drawing lots. When more than two candidates contest, a candidate will be declared elected if they receive more votes than the total votes secured by all other candidates combined. If no one attains such a majority, the candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated and voting will be held again.

In the district panchayats of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Wayanad, the president’s post is reserved for women. In Ernakulam, the post is reserved for Scheduled Castes. Out of 152 block panchayats, 67 have the president’s post reserved for women, and among 941 gram panchayats, 417 have the president’s post reserved for women.