New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS): The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has issued an order for conducting the election of the chairman, the deputy chairman, and the members of the standing committee of the 12 wards as per schedule.
The zonal committee elections are to be held on Wednesday for the posts of the chairman and the deputy chairman for each of the city's 12 zonal bodies.
Earlier, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi had refused to appoint a presiding officer for MCD ward committee elections, citing concerns over an "undemocratic process and insufficient notice" for filing nominations.
She criticised the short timeframe given and has directed the Commissioner to restart the election process with at least a week's notice to ensure fairness.
The order issued by MCD on Monday said, "Whereas the Schedule of Election of Chairman, Deputy Chairman and one Member for the Standing Committee from each of the 12 ward committees has already been fixed under Regulation 53 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Procedure & Conduct of Business) Regulations dated August 28, 2024."
The order added: "Whereas the Mayor has however not nominated the Presiding Officers for the said elections even while the elections are scheduled tomorrow i.e. September 9, 2024."
The order also reads: "Now, therefore in larger public interest and in order to preserve the democratic spirit of the Municipal Body and in exercise of the power conferred under Section 487 of DMC Act, 1957, read with Notification No. SO 3159 dated October 19, 1966, of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Lieutenant Governor has directed that the aforesaid elections be conducted as per the schedule notified by the Commissioner, MCD."
"Further, the Deputy Commissioner of the concerned zones shall perform the functions of the presiding officer in the interest of free and fair elections. The entire process of elections should be recorded to ensure smooth, fair and transparent process. The Lieutenant Governor has further directed that the aforesaid order shall be enforced with the immediate effect being a matter of emergent nature and in larger public interest," the order said.