Poll body begins process to elect Vice-President after Dhankhar's surprise exit
According to Article 66 of the Constitution, the Vice President is elected by an electoral college comprising members of both Houses of Parliament through a system of proportional representation using a single transferable vote.The electoral college includes:Elected members of the Rajya Sabha,12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, andElected members of the Lok Sabha.All MPs form the electoral college. Since all electors are MPs, each vote carries the value of one.The Vice President is elected by secret ballot using the single transferable vote system. Voters must mark their preferences against candidates' names. These preferences may be indicated using Indian numerals, Roman numerals, or numerals in recognised Indian languages — but not in words. Marking the first preference is mandatory, while others are optional.The Election Commission will provide a special pen with unique ink to cast votes. This pen will be issued by an officer present at the polling booth. Ballots marked with any other pen will be considered invalid.For the election of the President and Vice President, the Secretaries General of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are appointed alternately as Returning Officers. Assistant Returning Officers will also be appointed in the Parliament premises.Candidates must submit their nomination papers only to the Returning Officer at the location specified in the public notice (in New Delhi). The nomination form (Form 3) can be submitted from 11 am to 3 pm, excluding holidays. Each nomination must be signed by at least 20 proposers and 20 seconders. A voter may sign only one nomination as either a proposer or seconder. A candidate may submit up to four nomination papers. The security deposit is 15,000, which must be submitted either with the nomination paper or earlier at the RBI or government treasury.Under Article 66, an updated list of the electoral college can be purchased from the Election Commission at Rs 50 per list. It will also be available on the Commission's website.Each candidate may appoint one representative for the polling and counting centres, with written authorisation.advertisementThe election is held by completely secret ballot. Displaying one's ballot to anyone is strictly prohibited. Before placing the ballot in the box, it must be folded properly. Violating any rules will render the vote invalid.Political parties are not allowed to issue a whip directing MPs to vote for a particular candidate. If bribery or undue influence is involved (Sections 171B and 171C of IPC), the election may be declared void by the Supreme Court.Assistant Returning Officers will assist in the delivery and retrieval of election material to and from Parliament.The Election Commission will appoint senior officials from the Government of India as observers at the polling station.The Commission always aims to conduct environmentally friendly elections. This time too, directions have been issued to prevent the use of plastic and banned materials.The vote count will take place the same evening in New Delhi under the supervision of the Returning Officer. Once the results are declared, the 'Return of Election' (Form 7) will be signed.- EndsTrending Reel
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