The first Panchayat Act in Travancore came into force in 1925. According to it, there were Panchayat Samiti with not less than five and not more than eleven members in each village. These Samiti also had their own powers. These functioned under the control of the Divisional Commissioners. The Village Union Act came into force in 1940. After independence, the Travancore-Cochin Village Panchayat Act came into force in 1950. During this period, the Panchayat system was also functioning in Ettumanoor village.

It is seen in the Panchayat Development Report (2002) that a Panchayat had been functioning with Ettumanoor as its centre since 1936. This later became a Village Union. Although the office bearers of the Village Union were elected according to the will of the people, it was not through democratic voting. At that time, the followers called by the leaders were elected by clapping their hands according to consensus. Due to this, three or four leaders took turns sharing the post of president. This process continued until the first popular elections were held in 1953. V.T. Chacko, C.L. Varkey and others were presidents during this period. K.N. Gopalan Nair and Vadakkedathu Gopala Pillai were prominent leaders.
When the panchayat system was reorganized in 1952, Athirampuzha and the surrounding areas were separated from Ettumanoor panchayat and Athirampuzha panchayat was formed.

In the first general panchayat elections held in 1953, Chandy Vellappally was elected as the president of Ettumanoor panchayat. He remained the president until 1963. The first panchayat office was located in a church building in the heart of the town. At that time, a radio was installed in the panchayat office for the public. During the time of Chandy Vellappally, the office was shifted to the Noor Jamaliya building. In 1957, the panchayat was shifted to a building constructed by itself. The building was inaugurated by Kumari Padma Narayana Swamy, who was the Sub-Collector of Kottayam. After 1977, this building was expanded and constructed in its present form.

The elections to the panchayats were held in 1963, ten years after the 1953 elections. Through the subsequent elections, C.J. Joseph became the president. He remained as the president for 16 years without an election from January 1964 to 1979. In the elections held in 1979, Varkey Kurien and then V.K. Kurien became the presidents. When their terms expired, the panchayats throughout Kerala came under administrative rule. For some time, the BDO and later the Taluk Panchayat Officer administered the administration here. Elections were held in 1988 and then almost regularly in 1995, 2000 and 2005. The elections after 1988 were fought on the basis of clear front politics. Mr. Joseph Koombikkan, Mr. Johnny Varghese, Mr. V.T. Devasya, Mr. Joseph Narikkuzhi, Mr. T.S. Sasikumar, Mr. E.G. Sadanandan, Mrs. Rama Viswanathan, Mr. K.S. Sasidharan, Mr. V.J. Thomas, Mr. James Thomas Plakithottil, Mr. Biju Koombikkan and Mr. George Pullatt represented the fronts and became the presidents.
In November 2015, Ettumanoor Grama Panchayat was converted into a municipality and Mr. James Thomas Plakithottil was elected as the first municipal chairman. Subsequently, Mr. Chacko Joseph (Joy Mannamala), Mr. Joy Oonnukkallel, Mr. George Devasya Pullat and Mr. Biju Koombikkal became the Presidents. Mrs. Lovely George Padikara was elected as the Chairperson from 2020 to 2025. Mr. Tomy Kuruvilla will continue as the Chairperson from 2026.