How civic bodies are formed when there is no clear majority

Thiruvananthapuram: Though the LDF secured an outstanding win in the civic polls in Kerala with decisive mandates, there are no clear winners at a few places. The single largest party or the front will come to power in such local bodies even in the absence of a simple majority.

The elections to the chairperson/president posts will indicate as to who would come to power in the respective local body. In local bodies without a simple majority, each front and party will field their own candidates for the post of civic chief.

How civic chiefs are elected

For example, in order to take control of a 30-member local body, one would need 16 members for attaining simple majority. In case if there are three parties and their strength is 12, 10 and 8 respectively, in the first phase all these votes will be polled for electing the president/chairperson. Subsequently, the candidate with less number of votes will be dropped and a second round of election will be held.

In case if they receive 12 and 10 votes respectively the candidate securing the highest number of votes will be declared the winner. At this stage if the members who were excluded earlier will be given an opportunity to vote. If they vote for a particular candidate, he /she will get the majority and emerge victorious. In case if the third party abstains from voting, the single biggest party or front will come to power in that local body.

A posthumous victory

Sahira Banu, the LDF candidate from ward 15 of the Thelkadu panchayat in Malappuram, had died in an accident on the eve of declaration of results. Poignantly, she emerged victorious with a margin of 248 votes.

The chairperson's post in the panchayat in which LDF has secured majority is reserved for a woman. Sahira was being considered for the chairperson's post.

She had been under treatment since December 10 after sustaining serious injuries as a car hit the scooter on which she was proceeding to a bank. Sahira's nephew was accompanying her.

However, S Francis, a Congress rebel candidate from Kotukalkonam ward of Balaramapuram Panchayat who died on the polling day, lost the election.

Results from scandal spots

The UDF and LDF shared the two divisions of the Kochi Municipal Corporation where the Palarivattom flyover which was in the news over a graft case is located. The UDF won at Mamangalam an the LDF at Palarivattom, with the UDF coming third here.

The UDF retained the Wadakkanchery municipality where a flat built under the controversial Life Mission Project is located.

The Congress won from Ward 11 of the Puthussery panchayat in Walayar where two teen sisters had died under suspicious circumstances. The CPM had been winning from this ward for the past many years.

Swearing-in on Dec 21

The swearing-in of the elected members at 1,191 local bodies will be held on December 21. The oath-taking at the remaining eight of the 1,199 local bodies where elections where held earlier this month would be held from December 22.

The first member at the district, block and grama panchayats would be sworn-in by the respective returning officers.

At municipalities, where there are more than one returning officer, a specially deployed officer would administer the oath and district collectors would do so at the municipal corporations.

The oldest member would be sworn-in first and this representative would then in turn administer the oath to others.

The term of the governing councils of local self-government bodies had ended on November 11, nearly a month before the civic polls. A three-member administrative committee has been discharging their duties in the interim as per a notification issued by the Kerala government.

The administrative rule will continue till the newly elected governing councils assume office. Barring the running of day-to-day functioning of the local bodies, the administrative committee does not have powers to make policy decisions.