Delhi Mayoral Elections 2023: Nominated Members Can’t Vote, Says Supreme Court

Delhi Mayoral Elections 2023: The Supreme Court said today that members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi( MCD) won’t have the right to vote in the Delhi mayoral polls.

The Top Court further said the election to choose the deputy mayor can only be held after the mayor is elected. Once elected, the mayor shall preside over the deputy mayor’s election.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud directed that the election of the Delhi mayor should be conducted at the first MCD meet. The court further directed that a notice for the election of the mayor and the first meeting of the MCD shall be issued within 24 hours.

“It needs to be emphasized that the mayor once elected will conduct the meetings (for the subsequent elections). The election of the mayor should be held first. The mayor will then preside over the meetings for the election of the deputy,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.

In the elections held for the Delhi municipal corporation in December, AAP came ahead of the BJP by a small margin. The election to the post of mayor was delayed on three prior occasions after the AAP and BJP could not agree on the question of allowing nominated members to vote.

The Supreme Court has ordered that nominated members cannot vote in the Delhi mayor election. This is a big relief for the Aam Aadmi Party which was protesting against the Lieutenant Governor’s decision to allow nominated members to vote.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the order was a “victory for democracy”.

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