The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government has issued a set of guidelines to Provincial Commissioners regarding the conduct of inaugural meetings and the election of chairpersons in local government bodies where no political party has secured an outright majority.
These guidelines are to be uniformly followed by Provincial Commissioners across the country to ensure consistency and avoid potential legal complications in local authority governance.
The Ministry emphasized that a standardized procedure for electing chairpersons in councils without a 50% majority will help prevent unnecessary disputes and uphold the integrity of the administrative process.
The new term of office for local government bodies is scheduled to begin on the 2nd of next month.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has instructed political parties and independent groups to submit the names of elected members within seven days, based on the votes received in the local government elections.
Secretaries of political parties and leaders of independent groups have been formally notified of this requirement.
The Election Commission has also issued guidelines to ensure appropriate female representation when finalizing the lists of elected members.
Once the names are submitted, the Commission plans to publish the final list of elected members for each local government division in the government gazette.
