The Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayor in Chandigarh will now be elected through show of hands instead of the earlier secret ballot method. Punjab Governor and Administrator of the Union Territory Chandigarh, Gulab Chand Kataria, has approved an amendment to Regulation 6 of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996. With this amendment, the change will take place.
Sharing this information, Chandigarh Administrator Kataria stated that the new system will bring greater transparency in the election process. It will make the role of elected representatives more clear and accountable. He has further expressed hope that this change will bring improvement in the functioning and governance of the Municipal Corporation. It will further strengthen trust in democratic processes.
“With this amendment, the mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor will now be elected through a show of hands instead of the earlier secret ballot method,” the official statement stated.
Notably, this amendment was first passed in the House meeting of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh. It was proposed under the legal powers granted by Section 398 (2) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 (as extended to the Union Territory of Chandigarh under the Chandigarh UT Act, 1994). The proposal was then sent to the Administrator for approval, and it has now been formally granted.
