Elections for the members of the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) will be held after a gap of nearly 20 years, with online voting scheduled for February 9, according to officials. Director of Secondary Health and Election Returning Officer Chakradhar Babu announced that the election notification for the selection of 13 council members under Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Council Act was issued on Monday. Addressing the media at the Directorate of Secondary Health headquarters in Tadepalli, he said the elections are being conducted in compliance with the directions of the High Court.

The Returning Officer noted that the last Medical Council elections were conducted in 2006. A total of 55,504 registered medical practitioners across the state are eligible to vote in the upcoming polls. Eligible doctors can cast their votes from anywhere using the online voting system, including through mobile phones. Nominations from candidates willing to contest the elections will be accepted from Tuesday, with January 27 fixed as the final date for submission. Only those doctors who are registered members of the Medical Council and have been residing in the state for more than five years will be eligible to contest.

The withdrawal of nominations will be permitted on January 28 and 29. The final list of eligible candidates will be published on February 2. Online polling will be conducted on February 9 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and the election results will be declared the following day, February 10. A nomination fee of Rs 500 has been prescribed for candidates. The tenure of the elected members of the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council will be five years.