President of India

Method and Stages of Election

President of India: Method of Election, Stages and Powers of the
President!
• The Constitution declares India to be a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular,
and Democratic Republic. For securing the objective of making India
a Republic, the Constitution provides for an elected head of the state
— the President of India.
Indirect Election of the President of India:
• Article 54 of the Constitution provides for an indirect method for the
election of the President.
• He is elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of
both Houses of Union Parliament as well as of all State Legislative
Assemblies.
• (A) Qualifications for the Office of President:
• 1) He should be a citizen of India,
• 2) He should be of 35 years or above of age,
• 3) He should be qualified for becoming a member of the Lok Sabha,
• 4) He should not hold any office of profit, and
• 5) He should not be a member of the Parliament or of a State
Legislature.
(B) Composition of the Electoral College for the Election of the
President:
• The President is elected an Electoral College which consists of:
• (a) The elected members of both the Houses of the Union Parliament
(All elected MPs), and
• (b) The elected members of all State Legislative Assemblies (All
elected MLAs).
• The nominated members of the Parliament and Legislative Assemblies
have been denied a share in the Presidential election.
Method of Election of the President:
• The Constitution lays down that President of India is to be elected
indirectly by an electoral college in accordance with the system of
proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote
system and secret ballot.
• “It specifies two principles for ensuring uniformity and parity in the
value of votes of MPs and MLAs.
(i) There is uniformity in the scale of representation of all States:
• For securing this objective, the Constitution provides that the value of
vote of an MLA of each state is to be in proportion to the population
of that state.
•In
  order to determine this, the following formula is used:
Value of vote of an MLA of a State:
• Total Population of State/Number of Elected MLAs of State ÷1000

• By using the formula the value of vote of each MLA of each state is calculated
and then the total value of votes of all the MLAs of all the States is aggregated.
• The Constitution (Eighty-fourth) Amendment Act, 2001 provides that until the
relevant population figures for the first census to be taken after the year 2026
have been published, the population of the States for the purposes of
calculation of value of votes for the Presidential election shall mean the
population of 1971.
• (ii) There is parity in the value of votes of all MPs and all MLAs:
• For securing parity between the States and the Union, it has been laid
down that the total value of votes of all the elected members of
Parliament (MPs) shall be equal to the total value of votes of all the
MLAs of all states.
• This is determined by the following formula:
• Value of Vote of an MP =
• Total value of votes of all MLAs of all States/Total Number of Elected
MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

= 708
• (iii) A Fixed Quota of Votes for a Win:
• In order to win a Presidential election, a candidate has to secure a
minimum fixed quota of votes which is calculated as follows
• Winning Quota =
• Total number of valid votes Polled/ number of seats + 1 i.e. 1 + 1 +1

Electoral Quota = +1
(iv) Single Vote System:
• In a Presidential election, each voter casts only one vote.
• However, its value differs from voter to voter.
• The value of vote of an MP is uniformly the same while the value of
vote of an MLA differs from state to state.
• As for example, the value of vote of an MP from Odisha, like every
other MP is the same (around 708) but the value of vote of an MLA
from Odisha is different.
(v) Indication of Preferences by the electors:
• Each member of the Presidential electoral college while, casting his
vote also indicates his preferences I, II, III, IV, V and so on.
• His vote goes to the candidate to whom he gives his first preference
vote.
• But in case that candidate fails to win the required winning quota and
no other candidate also gets the required winning quota of votes, his
vote is transferred to the candidate to whom he has given his second
preference vote and so on.
(vi) Provision for Transfer of Votes in case no candidate gets the required
winning quota of Votes:
• When in a Presidential election no candidate gets the required winning quota
of votes in the First count, which is done by counting the first preference
votes secured by each candidate, the candidate with the lowest number of
votes polled gets eliminated.
• His votes are then transferred to the remaining candidates on the basis of the
second preferences as recorded by ‘his voters’.
• The process is repeated till one of the contesting candidates secures the
required winning quota.
• This transfer system was used only once at the time of the 5th Presidential
election held in 1969.
• It has not been used thereafter because each Presidential election has given a
clear majority to one candidate.
• A presidential election was held in India on 17 July 2017 with the
votes counted and the results announced on 20 July 2017.
• Ram Nath Kovind became 14th President of India.

Electoral College
Candidate Individual votes %
votes

Ram Nath Kovind 2,930 702,044

65.65%

Meira Kumar 1,844 367,314

34.35%
Invalid[25] 77 20,942
During 2017, the following was the programme for the Presidential
Election:
• a) Issue of Notification 14-06-2017
• b) Last date for making nominations 28-06-2017
• c) Scrutiny of nominations 29-07-2017
• d) Last date for the withdrawal of candidatures 01-07-2017
• e) Date of Poll 17-07-2017
• f) Counting of Votes 20-07-2017
Stages in a Presidential Election:
1. Notification of Election and Appointment of the Returning Officer:
• Art. 324- The election is notified by the President and the responsibility
for conducting it is with the Election Commission of India.
• The Election Commission appoints a Returning Officer and fixes the date
for filing the nomination papers, the last date for withdrawal, and the
polling schedule.
• The Election Commission, in consultation with the Central Government,
appoints the Secretary General of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, by
rotation, as the Returning Officer.
• Poll for the election will be taken in the Parliament House and in the
premises of the State Legislative Assemblies,
2. Filing of Nomination Papers, Scrutiny and Withdrawals:
• By the stipulated date each candidate has to file his nomination papers
with the Returning Officer.
• Each name has to be proposed by 50 electors and seconded by another
50 electors.
• Along with it, a sum of Rs. 15,000 has to be deposited as security
money.
• The nomination papers are then scrutinised for determining the
eligibility of all candidates.
• All incomplete and wrong nominations get rejected.
• The candidates are then permitted to voluntarily withdraw from the
contest by a stipulated date.
3. Election Campaign:
• Thereafter all eligible candidates conduct their election campaigns
mostly through their respective political parties.
• Since it remains confined only to the members of the Electoral
College, the general public gets involved in a minimum way.
4. Polling:
• On the fixed day, the polling is held.
• Each voter casts one vote and indicates his preferences on the ballot
paper.
• The voting is totally secret.
5. Counting of Votes:
• After the polling, the counting of votes takes place.
• The valid votes polled are counted. The quota is determined.
• The votes polled (First Preference Votes) of each candidate are
counted and calculations are done taking into account the value of
each vote as stands determined on the basis of the formulas discussed.
• The candidate completing the quota or surpassing it gets elected.
• In case no candidate gets the fixed minimum quota of votes, the
transfer of votes takes place in accordance with the prescribed
procedure.
• A candidate who secures less than 1/6th of the votes necessary to win
the election forfeits his security money.
6. Notification of the Result:
• The result of the election is then notified in the Gazette of India.
7. Oath-taking and Installation:
• The day the term of the previous President expires or on a fixed date,
the oath-taking and installation of the new President takes place.
• The President-elect takes the oath of his office in the presence of the
Chief Justice of India, and in his absence in the presence of the
available senior-most judge of the Supreme Court.
• Art. 61
(D) Method of settlement disputes regarding the Presidential Election:
• Any dispute arising out of the election of the President is enquired into and finally
decided by the Supreme Court of India. (Art. 71)
• An election petition can be filed only within 30 days of the declaration of the result.
The Supreme Court then conducts the hearing and gives its verdict.
(E) Tenure of the President:
• The President is elected for a term of five years.
• His term commences from the date on which he enters the office.
• However, in case due to one reason or the other, the election of a new President
cannot be completed before the expiry of his term, the existing President continues
to hold the office till the election of a new President gets completed.
(F) Provision for Resignation:
• Before the completion of his term, the President can resign his office by writing a
resignation letter by hand and addressing it to the Vice-President of India.
(G) Method of Removal (Impeachment) of the President:
• The President can also be removed from office through a process of
impeachment on grounds of violation of the Constitution.
• However, the Constitution does not define the meaning of the phrase
‘violation of the Constitution’.
Initiation of Proposal and Leveling Charges
• The impeachment proceedings can be initiated by either House of the
Union Parliament.
• For initiating the impeachment proceedings, first one-fourth of the
total members of a House have to give a signed written notice at least
14 days in advance.
• If the House after deliberations passes this resolution by a majority of
2/3rd of its total membership; it goes to the other House.
Investigation Of Charges:
• The other House investigates the charges.
• The President has the right to appear in person or through a lawyer, to
defend himself.
• If after investigation, the second House also passes the implement
resolution by not less than 2/3rd majority of the total membership of
the House, the President gets impeached and goes out of office.
• No President of India has, till today, faced an impeachment
proceeding.
• Thus, an impeachment is a quasi-judicial procedure in the Parliament.
• In this context, two things should be noted:
• (a) the nominated members of either House of Parliament can
participate in the impeachment of the President though they do not
participate in his election;
• (b) the elected members of the legislative assemblies of states and the
Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry do not participate in the
impeachment of the President though they participate in his election.
(G) Re-eligibility:
• The Constitution does not place any restriction on the number of terms a person can
get re-elected as President. 57
• Till now, no President except the first President Dr. Rajendera Prasad has remained
in office for more than two terms.
(H) Presidential Succession:
• If the office of President falls vacant due to the death of the incumbent or due to any
cause other than the expiry of his term of office, then the Vice- President of India
becomes the acting-President.
• Then a new President is elected within six months of the occurring of the vacancy.
• In case the office of the Vice-President is also vacant at the time of the occurrence of
a vacancy in the office of President, the Chief Justice of India, and in his absence the
senior- most judge of the Supreme Court, is sworn in as the acting-President till the
election of a new President, which has to be essentially completed within six
months.
(I) Emoluments:
• The President now gets salary of Rs. 150000/- per month.
• Besides salary the President gets several allowances and a free furnished
accommodation.
• After retirement the President gets a monthly pension of Rs. 75000/ as well as
an allowance for employing a personal secretary, free accommodation and
medical aid.
(J) Immunities:
• For the exercise of his constitutional rights and powers, the President is not
answerable to any court.
• During his tenure, he cannot be arrested or detained and no criminal proceedings
can be launched against him.
• For suing him in a civil case involving his personal acts, an advance notice of
two months has to be given.