TN ordinance for indirect election of Mayors in corporations

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday promulgated an ordinance for the indirect election of Mayors of Municipal corporations and chairpersons of municipalities, saying it will lead to stability.

Indirect election of civic body chiefs will ensure collective responsibility among the heads of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and all the elected councillors, the ordinance promulgated by the Governor said.

Now, only councillors can pick a chief for the civic body from among them and not the general public who could elect them directly.

The ordinance comes after the state government had reverted to direct election of Mayors and other civic body chiefs by the people, after moving a bill in this regard in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in January 2018.

Incidentally, the ruling AIADMK, under former Chief Minster J Jayalalithaa in 2016, had opted for indirect election, i.e. by the Councillors.

The civic polls, scheduled to be held in 2016, are yet to be conducted following litigation.

In the explanatory statement in the ordinance, the government said if a Mayor or Chairperson belonged to one particular political party and the majority of the councillors to another, then the civic body chiefs "fail to get utmost co-operation from the councillors."