Election of India’s President

Why in the News?

Recently, Draupadi Murmu was elected as the 15th President of India.

Key Points:

Election of President

• • The Election Commission (EC) of India conducts elections for the office of the President of India.

  • The Indian President is is not elected directly by the people rather than through a electoral college system 

• Composition of Electoral System:

• • • Elected members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha

    • MLAs of the Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories  i.e. Delhi and Puducherry only.

    • Where an assembly is dissolved, the members cannot participate in the presidential election.

• Nomination:

• • • The candidate who is in an election fray for election to the President’s office must be supported by minimum 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors who seconds the candidature. 

    • An elector can propose or second the nomination of one candidate only.

• Tenure:

• • The President can hold office beyond his term of five years until his successor takes charge. 

  • Further, He is also eligible for re-election to that office.

Qualifications for Election as President:

• Nationality should be Indian. 

• 35 years of age should have been completed by the candidate.

• He should be eligible for election as a member of the Lok Sabha.

• No Office of Profit should be held by him/her.

 Value of Votes:

• Value of MLAs Votes: The value of each MLA vote is calculated by division of population of State by the number of MLAs in its Assembly, and the quotient is achieved further after division by 1000.

• Value of MPs Votes: The fixed value of each vote by an MP of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is 708.

What is required to secure a victory?

• A candidate does not secure victory based on a simple majority but through a system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

•  Voting is done by the secret ballot. 

• The proportional representation system ensures that the victorious person is returned by the absolute majority of votes.

• A candidate must get a fixed quota of votes in order to be declared elected to the office of President. 

• The quota of votes is calculated by dividing the total number of valid votes.

•  Voters of the electoral college write the names of candidates on the ballot paper in the order of preference.

• The decision of Supreme Court is final in cases involved doubts and disputes in connection with the election of the President

Why is the President indirectly elected?

• The President’s indirect election is in sync with the Westminster model of government envisioned in the Constitution of India.

•  Under this system, the President acts as a nominal executive, and the real powers are bestowed upon the council of ministers headed by the Prime-minister.