VIJAYAWADA: The State Election Commission (SEC) has issued notifications on Tuesday for the conduct of indirect elections to the offices of members (co-opted), presidents vice-presidents of 659 Mandal Praja Parishads (MPPs); and Members (co-opted), chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of 28 Zilla Praja Parishads (ZPPs).
The special meetings will be convened by the presiding officers in the MPPs and ZPPs for the purpose of conducting indirect elections on November 19 and 20 respectively.
The elected MPTC members will elect a president and a vice-president from among themselves. Similarly, the elected ZPTC members will elect a chairperson and a vice-xhairperson from among themselves.
One member (co-opted) in each MPP and two members (co-opted) in each ZPP will also be elected. Before taking up the election of the president and vice-president of an MPP and the chairperson and vice-chairperson of a ZPP, the elected members will first elect the member(s) (co-opted), who should belong either to a religious minority or a linguistic minority.
As per the orders, the religious minorities include Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis). Linguistic minorities refer to persons whose mother tongue is a language other than Telugu.
The elections to the offices of president and vice-president of MPPs and chairperson and vice-chairperson of ZPPs will be conducted by way of ‘show of hands’, duly adhering to the party whip issued by the respective recognised political parties to their members. However, there is no provision for issuance of a party whip in respect of the election of members (co-opted).
The Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), who are ex officio members of the respective Parishads, will also be invited to attend the special meetings convened for the conduct of indirect elections. However, they will not have any voting right in the said elections.
As per the prescribed schedule, notices convening the special meetings will be served to the elected MPTC and ZPTC members on or before Nov 14, for the indirect elections scheduled to be held on November 19 in respect of MPPs and on November 20 in respect of ZPPs.
