>>> Press Note No.56, Dated: 09-06-2022 - 16வது குடியரசுத் தலைவர் தேர்தல் 18-07-2022ஆம் தேதி நடைபெறும் - இந்திய தேர்தல் ஆணையர் ராஜீவ் குமார் (Election to the Office of President of India, 2022 (16th Presidential Election) Will be held on July 18th)...
16வது குடியரசுத் தலைவர் தேர்தல் ஜூலை 18ஆம் தேதி நடைபெறும் - இந்திய தேர்தல் ஆணையர் ராஜீவ் குமார்...
ஜூன் 29ஆம் தேதி வேட்புமனு தாக்கல்.
ஜூலை 21ஆம் தேதி வாக்கு எண்ணிக்கை நடைபெறும்.
குடியரசுத் தலைவர் தேர்தலில் வாக்காளர்களாக 788 நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் (255 மாநிலங்களவை உறுப்பினர்கள் + 543 மக்களவை உறுப்பினர்கள்) மற்றும் சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் உள்ளனர்.
எம்.பி.க்களின் ஓட்டு மதிப்பு 5,43,200.
எம்.எல்.ஏ.க்களின் ஓட்டு மதிப்பு 5,43,231- இந்திய தேர்தல் ஆணையர்.
Election to the Office of President of India, 2022 (16th Presidential Election)...
NO.ECI/PN/56/2022
Date: 09/06/2022
PRESS NOTE
Sub: Election to the Office of President of India, 2022 (16th Presidential Election).
The term of office of Shri Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, is ending on 24th July, 2022. As per Article 62 of the Constitution of India, an election to fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of office of the outgoing President is required to be completed before the expiration of the term.
2. Article 324 of the Constitution read with the Presidential and Vice – Presidential Elections Act, 1952, and the Presidential and Vice – Presidential Elections Rules, 1974 vests the superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of election to the office of the President of India in the Election Commission of India. The Election Commission is mandated to ensure that the election to the office of the President of India, which is the highest elective office in the country, must be a free and fair election and the Commission is taking all necessary steps for discharging its constitutional responsibility. Election Commission of India is privileged and honoured to announce today the schedule of election for the 16th Presidential Election. Section 4(3) of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 provides that the notification for election shall be issued on or after the sixtieth day before the expiration of term of office of the outgoing President.
3. As per the Article 54 of the Constitution of India, the President is elected by the members of the Electoral College consisting of:
elected members of both Houses of Parliament, and
elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
(The nominated members of either Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha or Legislative Assemblies of the States are not eligible to be included in the Electoral College and therefore, they are not entitled to participate in the election. Similarly, members of the Legislative Councils are also not electors for the Presidential election). The value of votes of the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies and both Houses of Parliament is governed by Article 55(2) of the Constitution. The total value of votes for MLAs for 16th Presidential Election is 543231. The total value of votes for MPs is 543200. The total value of vote of electors for the Presidential Election, 2022 is 1086431. The Appendix-I in the booklet ‘Election to the office of President of India, 2022’, gives the State wise and other details of the above mentioned figures.
4. Article 55 (3) of the Constitution provides that the election shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot. In this system, the elector has to mark preferences against the names of the candidates. Preference can be marked in the international form of Indian numerals, in Roman form, or in the form in any recognised Indian languages. Preference has to be marked in figures only and shall not be indicated in words. The elector can mark as many preferences as the number of candidates. While the marking of the first preference is compulsory for the ballot paper to be valid, other preferences are optional.
5. For marking the vote, the Commission will supply particular pens. The pen will be given to the electors in the polling station by the designated official when the ballot paper is handed over. Electors have to mark the ballot only with this particular pen and not with any other pen. Voting by using any other pen shall lead to invalidation of the vote at the time of counting.
6. 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. Accordingly, the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha will be appointed as the Returning Officer for the present election to the Office of the
President. The Commission has also decided to appoint Assistant Returning Officers in all State capitals, including NCT of Delhi and Union Territory of Puducherry, for making arrangements for conducting the poll and for transportation of the ballot boxes and other important election materials to and from the Election Commission. For meeting any eventuality, in case the Assistant Returning Officer is not available for any reason, a second Assistant Returning Officer is also being appointed. A list of Assistant Returning Officers is at Appendix-I.
7. As per Rule 7 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules 1974, poll for the election will be taken in the Parliament House and in the premises of State Legislative Assemblies, including the Legislative Assemblies of NCT of Delhi and Puducherry where Legislative Assembly meets for transaction of business. The polling, if required, shall take place at the places of polling as given in the list at Appendix-II.
8. As per the Schedule of the election, the nomination paper of a candidate must be delivered to the Returning Officer at New Delhi in the place to be specified by him by a public notice that will be issued by him (in Form-1 appended to the Presidential and Vice- Presidential Elections, Rules, 1974), and at no other place. Under the law, nomination (in prescribed Form 2) can be filed either by the candidate himself or by any of his proposers or seconders between 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Nomination cannot be filed on public holidays. A nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at least fifty electors as proposers and by at least other fifty electors as seconders. An elector can subscribe to only one nomination paper of a candidate as either a proposer or a seconder and is governed by Section 5B (5) of the Presidential and Vice- Presidential Elections Act, 1952. A candidate can file maximum of four nomination papers. The security deposit for the election is Rs. 15,000/- (Rupees fifteen thousand only), which is required to be made along with the nomination paper, or should be deposited in Reserve Bank of India or a Govt. Treasury under the relevant Head of Accounts for the purpose, prior to filing of nomination.
9. As per Rule 40 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974, the Commission shall maintain a list of members of the electoral college referred to in Article 54 with their correct up to date addresses, for the purpose of Presidential election. The list of members of the Electoral College maintained by the Commission for the Presidential Election, 2022, would be available for sale @ Rs. 300/- per copy from the counter opened in the premises of Election Commission of India. A copy of the Electoral College is also being uploaded on the Commission’s website. However, the said list will be updated after filling of the 55 vacancies in the ongoing Council of States elections, whose terms are expiring before the date of poll for Presidential Elections. Similarly, it will be updated after the results of the bye-elections in some State Legislative Assemblies. Therefore, Supplementary list(s) to the Electoral College will be published, as and when required.
10. Each contesting candidate can authorize a representative to be present in each place of polling and at the place fixed for counting (counting hall). Authorization of representatives for this purpose shall be made by the candidate, in writing.
11. Normally, Members of Parliament are expected to cast their votes at the place of polling in the Parliament House, New Delhi. Similarly, Members of State Legislative Assemblies are expected to vote at the respective State Legislative Assembly. However, on account of any exigency or special circumstances, the Members of Parliament can vote in any of the approved places of polling in the Legislative Assemblies of States/NCT of Delhi/UT of Puducherry. In similar conditions, any MLA may vote at the place of polling in Parliament House, New Delhi or in any of the approved places of polling in the Legislative Assembly of other States/NCT of Delhi/UT of Puducherry. For this purpose, the MPs/MLAs concerned have to apply, in advance, to the Election Commission in the prescribed format so as to reach the Election Commission at least 10 days before the date of poll. The format for making such application will be available with the Returning Officer and with the Assistant Returning Officers.
12. The Constitution has expressly provided that election to the office of President shall be by secret ballot. Therefore, the electors are expected to scrupulously maintain secrecy of vote. There is no concept of open voting in this election and showing the ballot to anyone under any circumstances in the case of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections is totally prohibited. Voting procedure laid down in the 1974 Rules provides that after marking the vote in the Voting Compartment, the elector is required to fold the ballot paper and insert it in the Ballot Box. Any violation of the voting procedure will entail cancellation of the ballot paper by the Presiding Officer. As already mentioned in paragraph 5, marking of vote can be done only with the particular pen provided by the Presiding Officer to the electors at the place of polling.
13. It is also clarified that political parties cannot issue any whip to their MPs and MLAs in the matter of voting in the Presidential election. It is further clarified that as per Section 18 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, the offence of ‘bribery’ or ‘undue influence’ as defined in Sections 171B and 171C of IPC, by the returned candidate or any person with the consent of the returned candidate are among the grounds on which the election can be declared void by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in an election petition.
14. The Chief Electoral Officer of each State including NCT of Delhi and UT of Puducherry shall supervise and coordinate with the Assistant Returning Officer for the conduct of poll at the respective State Legislative Assembly and transportation of the ballot boxes and other important election materials from the Election Commission to the respective State Legislative Assemblies and back to New Delhi, after the poll.
15. To ensure a free and fair election, the Commission also appoints senior Officers of the Government of India as its Observers at the place(s) of polling.
16. All related Covid-19 safeguards and protocols will be enforced in all the steps of the electoral process and, on the day of polling and counting.
17. It has always been the Commission's endeavour to make elections eco- friendly. The election to the office of President of India, being an indirect election, does not involve election campaigning in the conventional way of displaying banners, posters etc. Still, the Commission, in view of importance of this election, has directed the Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officers concerned to ensure use of eco-friendly and biodegradable material and eliminate the use of prohibited plastic/materials as per extant instructions of Government of India.
18. Counting of votes will be held in New Delhi under the supervision of the Returning Officer. On completion of counting, Return of Election (in Form 7 appended to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974) will be signed and issued by the Returning Officer.
19. In pursuance of sub–section (1) of section (4) of the Presidential and Vice- Presidential Elections Act, 1952, the Election Commission of India has fixed the schedule for the election to fill the office of the President of India as given in Appendix-III.
20. All available material in this Press Note is being uploaded on Commission’s website. The Commission has brought out a comprehensive booklet covering all aspects of election to the office of the President and copies of the publication can be obtained @ Rs. 25/- per copy from the Commission’s sale counter or from the offices of the Chief Electoral Officers in different States and Union Territories.
