Karwar: Members of several Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Karnataka have approached the court seeking continuation in office until the completion of their full term, after losing nearly 16 months of their tenure due to the state government’s delay in holding elections for the second half of their term. The court has granted an interim stay in their favour.

Across the state, elections for office-bearers of 188 ULBs were not held on time, leaving the councils under the charge of administrators for 14 of the 30 months in their second term. Elected members were kept away from administrative decision-making during this period.

Based on this, some elected representatives have requested the court to allow them to serve until the completion of the full 30-month tenure.

It may be recalled that office-bearers served the first half of the term from November 1, 2020, to May 1, 2023. However, due to confusion and disputes regarding elections for the second term’s presidents and vice-presidents, the administration of these ULBs remained with government-appointed administrators from May 2023 until August 17, 2024 — a gap of 16 months.

After the government announced reservation details for office-bearers on August 19, 2024, elections were finally conducted. This left elected representatives with only 14 months in office, as the current term is set to officially end on November 1, 2025.

Sources said that the State Election Commission had, on January 27, 2025, written to the Chief Secretary instructing the government to fix reservations for ULBs whose term was expiring and to submit the details to the Commission.

With some councils now obtaining a stay from the court, it remains to be seen whether fresh elections will be held at the end of the official term or whether the present office-bearers will be allowed to continue until the full tenure is completed.