Picture : Twitter / ANI
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has announced that the voting for the 16th Presidential elections to be held on 18th July, counting of votes on 21st July. The new President will take oath on July 25. The term of President Ram Nath Kovind ends on July 24. Hence it becomes imperative to hold elections earlier .
CEC Rajiv Kumar further stated in a press conference that a total of 4,809 electors to vote in the Presidential elections 2022. No political party can issue a whip to its members
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 the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
The electoral college for the presidential election consists of the 776 MPs of the Lok Sabha (543) and Rajya Sabha (233), as well as MLAs of state Assemblies and the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry. The total votes are counted on the basis of their value, which varies from state to state, with an Uttar Pradesh MLA carrying the highest value followed by Maharashtra and West Bengal.
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. In 2017, the presidential polls were held on July 17 and the counting took place on July 20.
