THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The oath-taking ceremony of newly elected representatives of local bodies was held on Monday. District collectors administered oath to the senior-most member of each district panchayat and corporation.
In Thiruvananthapuram, District Collector Navjot Khosa administered oath to Vellanad Sasidharan Nair and P Ashok Kumar in district panchayat and corporation, respectively. They in turn administered oaths to other members -- 25 in district panchayat and 99 in corporation.
The elected members who tested positive for COVID-19 or were placed in quarantine also took oath after other members took their oaths, by adhering to COVID protocol. S Jayachandran, who won from Kudappanakunnu division of Thiruvananthapuram corporation, turned up wearing a PPE kit and took oath. He came to the council hall in an ambulance of the corporation.
The seating arrangements in council halls were according to COVID-19 protocol and the elected members were allowed to bring a party member or a relative to the hall. They were given seats separately.
The seniormost member also presided over the first council meeting. During the meeting, guidelines for selecting presiding officers were read out to council members. The election of chairpersons to municipalities and corporations will be held on December 28, at 11 am and the vice-chairpersons three hours later at 2 pm.
The presidents of three-tier panchayats- grama panchayat, block panchayat and district panchayat- will be held on December 30 at 11 am and the vice-presidents at 2 pm the same day.
The ceremony was held in a total of 1,199 local bodies (except Mattannur municipality), including 941 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 86 municipalities, 14 district panchayats and six corporations, where elections were held in three phases on December 8, 10 and 14.
Members of two block panchayats and six grama panchayats in Malappuram district where the five-year term of the previous council did not expire on December 20, will take oath later.