VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Laws (Fourth Amendment) Bill, paving the way for the reintroduction of direct elections for Mayors in Municipal Corporations as well as Chairpersons in Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats across the state.
Moving the bill on the floor of the House, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development P Narayana stated that the amendment replaces the existing indirect election model with a direct voting mechanism, allowing citizens to elect their urban civic leaders directly.
Tracing the evolution of urban local body elections in Andhra Pradesh, Minister Narayana noted that indirect elections were conducted until 1986, after which the state transitioned to direct elections from 1986 to 2005.
However, the state reverted to indirect elections for the past two decades.