The Author, Smita Singh, is a 3rd year BA LLB student at National Law University, Delhi. She is currently interning with LatestLaws.com.
The 2022 Indian Presidential Election will be the country's sixteenth presidential election, set to take place on 18th July 2022. Shri Ram Nath Kovind is the incumbent President of India. With this backdrop, it is pertinent to understand the electoral process behind the same.
In Part V (The Union) under Chapter I (The Executive), the qualifications, election, and impeachment of the President of India are outlined.
Eligibility:
Article 58 of the Constitution stipulates that in order to be eligible for election as President, a candidate must be an Indian citizen over the age of 35 and eligible for election to the Lok Sabha. The candidate must not hold an office of profit with the federal government, a state government, or any other public entity. The candidate may nonetheless hold the office of President, Vice-President, Governor of any state, or Minister of the Union or of any state and still be able to contest the President election.
Nomination Process:
The nomination of a contestant for election to the post of President requires at least 50 proposers and 50 seconders [Form 2 appended to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974]. Each candidate must provide a ₹15,000 ($210) security deposit with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The candidate's security deposit is subject to forfeiture if they fail to receive one-sixth of the votes cast.
Election Process:
The President is indirectly elected and Article 54 of the Indian Constitution quotes that the electoral college must comprise (1) Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, (2) Legislative Assemblies of the State, and (3) Legislative Assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir. The election is conducted by secret ballot with the instant-runoff voting procedure. Article 55 of the Constitution specifies how the President is elected. It specifies that the values of the votes of the MPs and MLAs have different weightage, subject to the population of the states and the territories, and it is calculated based on the following formulae:
- Value of the vote of an MLA = (State’s Total Population/Total no. of elected members of the State Legislative Assembly) *(1/1000)
- Value of the vote of an MP = (Total value of votes of all MLAs of all states)/ (Total no. of elected members of the Parliament)
Manner of Recording of Votes:
According to the ‘proportional representation by single transferable vote’ system, each voter may indicate as many preferences as there are candidates running for office. The voter must mark their preferences for the candidates by placing the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. against the candidates' names, in order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot. The preferences can be represented in international form of Indian numerals, the form used in any Indian language, or in Roman form, but not in words such as one, two, first preference, second preference, etc. [Rule 17 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Rules, 1974].
Election Conducting Body:
Article 324 of the Constitution of India vests the Election Commission of India with the authority to hold elections for the Office of President. The Election Commission may issue the notification calling the presidential election on any day within sixty days before to the expiration of the term of the departing president [Section 4(3) of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act of 1952]. The election calendar shall be established so that the President-elect can assume office on the day following the expiration of the incumbent President's term.
Procedure of Challenging the Election Result:
An election to the Presidency may be challenged by submitting an election petition to the Supreme Court after the election has concluded. This election petition must be presented by a candidate or at least twenty electors united as petitioners, and it may be presented at any time after the date of publication of the declaration containing the name of the returned candidate at the election under Section 12 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, but no later than 30 days after such publication.
Article 145 of the Constitution allows the Supreme Court, subject to these rules, to regulate the form, method, and procedures associated with such election petitions. [Sections 13-20 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Act, 1952]
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