Andhra Pradesh Assembly passes Bill to restore direct election of Mayors, Chairpersons of ULBs

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Amendments have been made to Section 90 of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1955 and Section 23 of the Municipalities Act, 1965. | Photo Credit: File Photo

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly has restored the direct election of Mayors of Municipal Corporations, Chairpersons of Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats by passing the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Laws (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2026 on Wednesday.

The amendments have been made to Section 90 of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1955 and Section 23 of the Municipalities Act, 1965.

Mayors and Chairpersons will now be directly elected by the people of the Urban Local Bodies for a five-year term. Hitherto, they were elected by members of the divisions and wards including the ex-officio members.

The Bill has also rationalised the Offices of Deputies to one Deputy Mayor and one Vice-Chairperson but left their model of election unchanged.

The election of Mayors and Chairpersons was indirect (they were chosen by the elected members) prior to 1986, and direct from 1986 to 2005. The mode of their election was reverted to ‘indirect’ from August 6, 2005.

The Andhra Pradesh Municipal Laws (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2026, provides for the direct election of Mayors and Chairpersons at the same time and place as the ordinary election of members, unlike in the past when the election used to take place in the first meetings of Corporations or Councils.

The government’s decision is intended to give the people the democratic authority to directly choose the heads of the civic bodies, strengthening the legitimacy of the offices of the Mayor and Chairperson.

Besides, the idea is to ensure the pursuance of master plans, zoning regulations and creation of infrastructure —roads and mobility, water supply, sewerage and sanitation— as city-wide systems, instead of taking them as ward-level considerations.

The fixed five-year tenure sustains a medium-to-long-term urban agenda covering municipal finance, urban redevelopment, Public-Private Partnership projects and capital infrastructure.

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