Andhra Pradesh Mayors, Chairpersons Likely to Face Direct Elections

In Andhra Pradesh, a state in India, the government wants to change how some local leaders are chosen.

Right now, when people vote, they choose smaller council members first.

Those council members then meet and vote to pick the bigger leaders, like the president of a village group.

The government thinks it would be better if everyone could vote directly for these bigger leaders.

Leaders chosen directly by the people would feel stronger and could do their job for the full five years.

They would not have to worry about other council members voting to remove them from office.

People already vote directly for other local leaders called Sarpanches.

The local council system in Andhra Pradesh is very old and started in 1959.

Now the government is thinking about changing the rules so the biggest local leaders are also chosen by direct vote.