MAUD to decide ex officio voters in mayor, chairperson elections

The Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Department will have to take a decision on who should be eligible as ex officio voters to cast their votes in the indirect elections of mayors and chairpersons in urban local bodies.

The issue dates back to 2020, when K. Keshava Rao, the then Rajya Sabha member from the BRS, cast his vote in the indirect election of the chairperson of Tukkuguda Municipality.

During the previous municipal elections in Tukkuguda, which comprised 15 wards, the BJP won nine seats, the TRS (now BRS) secured five seats, while one seat went to an Independent candidate. However, during the indirect election of the municipal chairperson and vice-chairperson, Keshava Rao, as a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh, cast his vote in favour of the TRS.

Following this, a writ petition was filed in the High Court, and a division bench directed the Municipal Administration Department and the election authorities to take a decision on the eligibility of ex officio voters in urban local bodies.

The State Election Commission has also instructed District Collectors and Additional Collectors to compile details of ex officio members such as MPs, MLAs and MLCs in their respective municipalities and corporations, for the purpose of voting in the indirect elections of chairpersons and mayors scheduled between February 11 and 14.

According to sources, as per the rules, a Lok Sabha MP or MLA must first belong to the State within whose territorial jurisdiction the municipality is situated. Secondly, the constituency they represent must comprise wholly or partly the municipal area.

In the case of Rajya Sabha MPs and State MLCs, they must be registered as voters or electors within the municipal area. More importantly, to be nominated as members of a municipality, Rajya Sabha MPs and MLCs must be registered voters within the municipal limits concerned.

A public representative can become an ex officio member of only one municipality, which he must decide within 30 days from the date of the municipal election or from the date of his election as an MLA or Lok Sabha MP, as applicable. This decision must be communicated in writing, duly signed, to the Commissioner of the concerned municipality.

If a Lok Sabha MP or MLA fails to convey such intimation, the District Election Authority is empowered to decide the municipality and inform the MP or MLA accordingly.

In the case of MLCs elected by local authorities, graduates or teachers, or those nominated by the Governor, such members must choose one municipality within their jurisdiction to be an ex officio member within 30 days of the municipal election or their election to the Legislative Council.

Any member who fails to fulfil these conditions would not be entitled to be a member of the municipality and, consequently, would not be eligible to vote in municipal elections. If such a person was nominated or has already cast a vote, the same would be treated as null and void.