Kerala Assembly polls 2026 | election officials targeting 85% turnout on April 9

Election officials are targeting a voter turnout of 85% in the April 9 Assembly election in Kerala, according to Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar.

Addressing a meeting of political parties here, Mr. Kelkar listed ‘highest voter turnout in the history of Kerala elections’ as a priority of the Election Commission of India (EC). Mr. Kelkar said the highest so far was during the 1987 Assembly elections, when the polling percentage had stood at 80.57%.

Mr. Kelkar said special focus was being given to youth participation. A recent survey (’Baseline Survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) of Citizens for General Elections to Legislative Assembly, Kerala – 2026’) had revealed trends pertaining to low youth participation in elections. There will be zero tolerance for electoral malpractices, he said.

A look at recent elections show that Kerala has not approached the 80% mark. The State had registered a voter turnout of 77.35% in the 2016 Assembly polls and 77.67% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The turnout was 74.06% in the 2021 Assembly elections and 71.27% in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The gazette notification for the April 9 election was issued on Monday (March 16, 2026).

Arrival of poll observers

Following the announcement of the election schedule on Sunday (March 15), the Model Code of Conduct came into force in the State.

The General Observers and Police Observers will arrive in the State on Wednesday (March 18). The Expenditure Observer will arrive on Tuesday (March 17).

A ‘Fake News Detection Unit’ will work with the public relations at the CEO’s office to identify dissemination of fake news and misuse of artificial intelligence.