Question

give reason the elected members choose a President and Vice President from among themselves ​

Answer 1

Answer:

Under the Constitution of India, there shall always be a President of India (See Article 52 of the Constitution). He holds the highest elective office in the country and is elected in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Presidential and vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952. The said Act is supplemented by the provisions of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974, and the said Act under Rules form a complete Code regulating all aspects of conduct of elections to the Office of the President. The President holds office for a period of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office and, accordingly, an election is due to be held this year (2017) to elect the new President before the expiration of the term of the incumbent President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, on 24th July, 2017.

In the context of the above election, some date should fulfill the following eligibility conditions to contest the election to the Office of President: -

1.    Must be a citizen of India,

2.    Must have completed 35 years of age,

3.    Must be eligible to be a member of the Lok Sabha,

4.    Should not be holding any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Governments.

However, the candidate may be holding the office of President or Vice-President or Governor of any State or Ministers of the Union or any State and shall be eligible to contest election.

 

Q.7    Apart from the above what are the conditions to be fulfilled by a candidate for his nomination to be valid?

Answer: A nomination paper of a candidate for the election has to be made in the prescribed form (Form 2 appended to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974) and it has to be subscribed by at least fifty electors as proposers and at least fifty electors as seconders. The nomination paper duly completed in all respects has to be presented to the Returning Officer, between 11AM and 3PM on any day other than on a public holiday appointed for the purpose by the Election Commission, either by the candidate himself or by any of his proposers or seconders. Here DzElectorsdz mean elected MPs and elected MLAs who are electors for Presidential Election.

The Security Deposit for the election, of Rs.15000/- should also be deposited either in cash with the Returning Officer or a receipt showing that the amount has been deposited by the candidate or on his behalf in the Reserve Bank of India or in a Government Treasury should be furnished along with the nomination paper.

The candidate is also required to furnish a certified copy of the entry showing his name in the current electoral roll for the Parliamentary Constituency in which the candidate is registered as an elector. [see Sections 5B and 5C of the President and Vice-President Elections Act, 1952]

Q.8   Who is appointed the Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer for the election to the Office of President of India? Who makes such appointment?

Answer: By convention, the Secretary General, Lok Sabha or the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha is appointed as the Returning Officer, by rotation. Two other senior officers of the Lok Sabha/ Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Secretaries and one more senior officer of Legislative Assemblies of all States including NCT of Delhi and Union Territory of Puducherry, are also appointed as the Assistant Returning Officers. The Election Commission of India makes such appointments.

 [For the Presidential Election, 2017 the Secretary General Lok Sabha is the Returning Officer]

Q.9    Can a Candidate submit more than one nomination paper? What would be the security deposit to be made by such candidate?

Answer: Yes. A candidate can file a maximum of four nomination papers. However, he is required to make only one security deposit in this regard. [see Section 5B (6) and 5C of the President and Vice-President Elections Act, 1952]

Q.10   Can an elector propose or second the nomination of more than one candidate at a Presidential election?

Answer: No. An elector can propose or second the name of only one candidate at a Presidential election. If he subscribes as proposer or seconder, the nomination papers of more than one candidate, his signature shall be deemed operative only on the nomination paper first delivered to the Returning Officer. [see Section 5B(5) of the President and Vice-President Elections Act, 1952]