While the rest of Kerala gears up for local body elections, Mattannur municipality and Kannur Cantonment stand apart, untouched by the election frenzy. Mattannur is exempt because its board has two years left in its term, while residents of Kannur cantonment do not have voting rights in local elections.
Campaigning is peaking in Kannur district, which goes to polls on December 11, 2025, but Mattannur remains out of the fray. The municipality will have to wait another two years before facing an election. The council elected in 2022 will remain in office until September 2027, taking Mattannur out of the 2025 election cycle.
A long-running legal dispute from 1990 continues to shape Mattannur’s election timeline. The area was upgraded from a panchayat to a municipality during the EK Nayanar government, but the subsequent United Democratic Front (UDF) government reversed the decision and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) later restored it. As a result, Mattannur did not hold local elections until 1997, two years after the rest of the state. That cycle has kept him out of sync with national opinion polls ever since. Despite the lack of voting this year, local leaders remain active in campaigning for surrounding constituencies.
After delimitation in 2025, Mattannur now comprises 35 divisions. When it goes to the polls in 2027, the municipality is expected to attract national attention.
At the heart of the Kannur Corporation lies a zone free of campaign vehicles, door-to-door canvassing or election materials. Although geographically part of the corporation, the area is administered by the Kannur Cantonment Board under the Ministry of Defence.
Residents here can vote in parliamentary and council elections, but are excluded from local elections. Instead, they vote once every five years to elect representatives to the board. According to the 2011 census, the area has a population of 4,798, of which 1,867 are civilians and the rest serve defense personnel.
There are six constituencies within the camp limits. Civilians elect six board members who serve alongside six nominated military officers. The military commander serves as president of the council, while the vice president is chosen from among the elected civilian members. Although the council provides functions similar to other local bodies, it operates independently of the state government. Its income comes mainly from property tax, professional tax and central grants.
The last Cantonment Board election was held in 2015. After its term ended in 2020, it got an extension of one year. Although the Center issued a notification for the 2023 elections, the process was later put on hold, leaving the council without an elected body from 2021.
Published – 07 Dec 2025 19:28 IST
