(1) The State Election Commission shall issue the Notification and Schedule for general election and elections for casual vacancies in all Municipalities and Municipal Corporations. The Schedule and the dates on which elections will be conducted, shall be decided, by the State Election Commission in concurrence with the State Government, which has to consider matters pertaining to law and order situation, internal security, security personnel, central armed police forces and the logistics of their deployment, availability of staff for election related duties, availability and procurement of election related material and premises for polling and counting, conduct of elections to other legislative and statutory bodies, natural calamities and seasonal conditions including drinking water situation and agricultural season, major fairs and festivals, education calendar and examinations in schools and colleges, likely onset of any epidemic diseases, operations relating to collection of vital statistics like census or any other enumeration, and matters involving public interest and any other administrative exigencies:
Provided that in cases of multiple phases, the schedule of each phase shall have a gap of not more than five days from each other.
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(2) For the purpose of holding elections to fill ordinary or casual vacancies, the State Election Commission shall, by notification under sections 15 and 16, call upon such date or dates, as may be specified therein, the voters of the Municipalities, to elect ward member in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the rules and orders, if any, made thereunder.
(3) The notification shall specify the time schedule for various stages of the elections to fill the ordinary or casual vacancies, which shall be as follows from the date of election notice referred in sub-section (2):-
(a) Nomination shall be filed Within a period of three days (including the day of notice) upto 5.00 p.m.
(whether or not it is a holiday)
(b) Scrutiny of nominations shall be completed On the fourth day (whether or not it is a holiday)
(c) Appeal against rejection of nomination shall be filed, before the District Election Authority or Additional District Election Authority or Deputy District Election Authority as authorized by District Election Authority concerned.
On the fifth day upto
5.00 p.m. (whether or not it is a holiday) 146 [Act No. 11 of 2019]
(d) Disposal of appeal against rejection of nomination by the District Election Authority concerned or Additional District Election Authority or Deputy District Election Authority as authorized by District Election Authority concerned.
On the sixth day before 5.00 p.m.
(whether or not it is a holiday)
(e) Withdrawal of candidatures shall be allowed.
(f) Publication of final list of contesting candidates.
On the seventh day upto 3.00 p.m.
(whether or not it is a holiday).
On the seventh day itself, after the withdrawal of candidatures (whether or not it is a holiday).
(g) Polling shall be held, wherever necessary.
On the fifteenth day (whether or not it is a holiday).
(h) Counting of votes and declaration of results.
On the date and time appointed by the State Election Commission.
(4) The Returning Officer appointed for the purpose of conducting elections to Municipality shall as per the above time schedule specified by the State Election Commission issue the election notice for election of the ward members of Municipality and the time schedule shall commence from that date.
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(5) The State Election Commission shall issue the election notification for election of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson and the time schedule shall commence from that date.
195-A. (1) The electoral roll for a municipality shall be prepared and published by the person authorised by the State Election Commissioner in such manner by reference to such qualifying date as may be prescribed and the electoral roll for a municipality shall come into force immediately upon its publication in accordance with the rules made by the Government in this behalf. The electoral roll for a municipality shall consist of such part of the electoral roll for the Assembly constituency published under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 as revised or amended under the said Act, up to the qualifying date as relates to a municipality or any portion thereof:
Provided that any amendment, transposition or deletion of any entries in the electoral roll, or any inclusion of names in the electoral roll of the Assembly Constituencies concerned, made by the Electoral Registration Officer under section 22 or section 23, as the case may be, of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, up to the date of election notification, for any election held under this Act, shall be carried out in the electoral roll of the municipality and any such names included shall be added to the part relating to the concerned ward.
Explanation:- Where in the case of any Assembly Constituency there is no district part of the electoral roll relating to the municipality, all persons whose names are entered in such roll under the registration area comprising the municipality and whose addresses as entered are situated in the municipality shall be entitled to be included in the electoral roll for the municipality prepared for the purposes of this Act.
Preparation and publication of electoral roll for a Municipality.
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(2) The electoral roll for a municipality,-
(a) shall be prepared and published in the prescribed manner by reference to the qualifying date,-
(i) before each ordinary election; and
(ii) before each casual election to fill a casual vacancy in the office of the Mayor/Chairperson or Member of the Municipality; and
(b) shall be prepared and published, in any year, in the prescribed manner, by reference to the qualifying date, if so, directed by the State Election Commission:
Provided that if the electoral roll is not prepared and published as aforesaid, the validity, or continued operation of the said electoral roll, shall not thereby be affected.
(3) When a municipality has been divided into Wards, the Electoral Roll for the Municipality shall be divided into separate lists for each ward.
(4) Where after the electoral roll for a municipality or any alteration thereto have been published under sub-section
(2), the Municipality is divided into Wards for the first time or the division of the Municipality into wards is altered or the limits of the Municipality are varied, the person authorised by the State Election Commission in this behalf shall, as soon as may be after such division or alteration or variation, as the case may be, in order to give effect to the division of the Municipality into wards or to the alteration of the variation of the limits, as the case may be, authorise a re arrangement and republication of the electoral roll for the Municipality or any part of such roll, in such manner as the State Election Commission may direct.
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(5) The electoral roll published under sub-section (1) or as the case may be under sub-section (4) shall be the electoral roll for the municipality and it shall remain in force till a fresh electoral roll for the municipality is published under this Section.
(6) Every person whose name appears in that part of the electoral roll relating to a ward shall subject to the other provisions of this Act, be entitled to vote at any election which takes place in that ward while the electoral roll remains in force and no person whose name does not appear in such part of the electoral roll shall vote at any such election.
(7) No person shall vote at an election under this Act in more than one ward or more than once in the same ward and if he does so, all his votes shall be invalid.
Explanation:- In this section, the expression “Assembly Constituency” shall mean a constituency provided by law for the purpose of elections to the Telangana Legislative Assembly.
196. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or the rules made thereunder, the giving and recording of votes by voting machines in such manner as may be prescribed, may be adopted in such ward or seats as the State Election Commission may, having regard to the circumstances of each case, specify.
197. The State Election Commission shall by notification, specify the symbols that may be chosen by candidates contesting any election under this Act and the restrictions to which their choice shall be subject:
Provided that the State Election Commission shall not in the case of elections to Municipalities allot to any contesting Voting Machines at elections.
Symbols for elections under the Act.
150 [Act No. 11 of 2019] Voter identity cards.
Central Act 43 of 1950.
Injunctions not to be granted in Election Proceedings.
Requisitioning of premises and vehicles for election purposes.
candidate any symbol reserved for a recognized political party or a registered political party. The State Election Commission shall allot symbols reserved for a recognized political party or a registered political party where any candidate is setup by such political party.
198. With a view to prevent impersonation of electors, provision may be made by rules made under this Act, for the production before the Presiding Officer of a polling station by every such elector, of his identity card before the delivery of a ballot paper or ballot papers to him, the identity card of which has been supplied with a photograph attached thereto by the electoral registration officer under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 made under the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
199. No proceeding which is being or about to be taken under this Act for the preparation or publication of any electoral roll or for the conduct of any election shall be called in question in any Court, in any suit, or application, and no injunction shall be granted by any Court restraining any action in this regard.