Presidential Election
Introduction
Both the nation's first citizen and its head of state is India's president. According to Article 54 of the Indian Constitution, the president will be chosen by popular vote.
Election of India's President: Provisions
• India's president is chosen through a secret ballot.
• S/He is chosen by an electoral college using a single transferable vote and a secret ballot in accordance with the proportional representation system.
Electoral College
• The elected members of both Houses of Parliament make up the Electoral College.
• The State Legislative Assemblies' elected representatives.
• The Delhi and Puducherry legislative assemblies' elected representatives.
• The 70th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 introduced this clause.
• A candidate must have the support of at least 50 electors, 50 proposers and 50 seconders, to be nominated for the office of president. Each candidate is required to submit a security deposit with the RBI of Rs. 15,000, which is forfeitable if the candidate doesn't win one-sixth of the total votes cast.
Who Abstains From Voting In The Indian Presidential Election?
• A member of each House of Parliament who has been nominated.
• The State Legislative Assemblies' nominated representatives.
• The candidates for the Delhi and Puducherry legislative assemblies.
• All of the state legislative council members.
Why Use An Indirect Vote?
• The indirect presidential election process has drawn criticism for being in opposition to the democratic ideal of universal adult voting.
• The direct election by a vast population would result in significant time, energy, and financial losses that would be disproportionate to the choice of a nominal head of state, hence the constitution's authors chose the indirect election instead.
Re-Election Eligibility
• A President who is currently serving or has previously held the position of President is eligible for reelection.
Disputes Regarding The President's Election
• The Supreme Court, whose decision is final, investigates and resolves any questions and disagreements originating from or related to the presidential election.
• In addition, Article 71 says that no such disagreement may be brought up due to a vacancy in the Electoral College that chose the President.
• In the event that the Supreme Court nullifies a President's election, whatever he did before the date of the Supreme Court's ruling will be considered invalid.
• Any matter pertaining to or associated with the election of the President may be regulated by law by Parliament, subject to the provisions of the Constitution.
Vacancy In The President Office
• Expiration of the term, death, resignation, impeachment of the President, or other circumstances, such as when the Supreme Court rules that the President's election was invalid or when s/he is no longer eligible to hold the office, can all result in a vacancy in the office of President.
• The Election Commission must announce the results of the presidential election on or before the 60th day before the current president's term in office expires.
• The election calendar must be set up so that the president-elect can take office the day after the current president leaves office.
• In all other circumstances, or if the President is ill and unable to work, or if he is absent, the Vice-President, the Chief Justice of India, or the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, hold office as President of India until the new leader takes over.
• S/He has access to all of the Constitution's rights and privileges, including the President's salary, benefits, and immunities.
• According to the Constitution, such an election must be held within six months of the vacancy occurring.
President's Impeachment
• Article 61 states that the impeachment procedure can be used to remove the President from office prior to the end of his term.
• S/He can only be removed from office due to constitutional violations.
• The term "violation of the constitution" is not defined in the Constitution.
• The Parliament has the authority to remove the President from office.
• It is a judicial-like procedure.
• The impeachment procedure involves all of the Parliament's elected and appointed members. The State Legislature does not take part in the President's impeachment procedure.
• Either house of the Parliament may begin it.
• The accusation must take the form of a proposal that is part of the resolution and has the support of at least one-fourth of the House's members.
• The President must be given 14 days' notice before that house votes on the resolution.
• A majority of not less than two-thirds of the entire membership of the house is required to pass such a resolution.
• The other house is then notified to review it. A select committee looks into the complaints made against the president.
• The Indian President is entitled to legal representation from licensed solicitors during the proceedings. S/He can choose to represent himself, or select someone, a lawyer, or the Indian Attorney General.
• The Indian President is removed from office if the resolution is approved by the other house with a two-thirds vote after the select committee's examination.
Voting Process
• The Value of an MLA's Vote = Total State Population divided by elected members of the state legislative assembly into 1000
• An MP's vote is equal to the sum of the votes cast by all of the state's legislators. Elected members of both Houses of Parliament combined.
• Each MLA's vote has a different value depending on the state. The MPs' votes, however, are worth the same amount.
Approach To Voting
• The system of proportional representation used for the presidential election, which uses a single transferable vote and secret ballot voting, ensures that the winning candidate receives the support of an absolute majority of voters.
System With A Single Transferable Vote
• Each candidate's name is included on the ballot paper, and the voter allocates a number to each one according to his or her preferences.
• Each voter may indicate as many preferences on the ballot as there are candidates. The elector should put the number 1 next to the name of the candidate for whom they have the highest preference, and they are free to put as many preferences as they like next to the names of other candidates by putting the numbers 2, 3, 4, and so on.
• Your ballot is meaningless if you mark your first preference against multiple candidates or leave it blank.