As the presidential election draws closer, political activity in India has once again increased. The constitution has a separate provision that states that the choice of the President is not made by popular vote. We created our constitution by combining every other constitution in existence. When compared to America, where the President is the sovereign, this country’s Parliamentary system gives the Prime Minister the position of absolute authority. The Election Commission of India oversees the conduct of the presidential election, as it does with other elections. The election calendar for the nation’s next President has been made public by the Election Commission. The next presidential election will take place before President Ram Nath Kovind’s tenure expires on July 24. No party will whip any of its members, according to the panel.
Complex voting system:
India’s presidential election procedure is a little convoluted. Here, we’ll explain to you how India’s presidential election is actually conducted. In India, the results of the general election do not directly determine who becomes president. Instead, the people’s chosen representatives cast ballots to determine who becomes President. It is known as an indirect election for this reason. Since MPs and MLAs are directly chosen by the public they vote in presidential election. Whereas, the nominated members of parliament and members of legislative councils are not permitted to vote in presidential elections.
Electoral college:
The Electoral College, also known as an indirect election, chooses the president. Article 54 of the Constitution makes reference to it. In other words, the president is chosen by the people, not the other way around.
All elected legislators from each state’s legislative assembly, as well as elected members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, had the right to vote in this election. The President cannot cast a vote in the House of Representatives on behalf of nominees. Because he is not representative chosen by the public, the members of the state’s legislative councils are likewise not allowed to cast ballots.
Voting through Single Transferable Vote:
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In this election, voting is conducted using a unique method known as the Single Transferable Vote System. In other words, although a voter only casts one ballot, he chooses which candidates are most important to him. In other words, he specifies on the vote who is his top preference and who comes in second and third. The voter’s second preference is added to the candidate’s account as a fresh single vote if the first choice votes do not determine the winner. Thus, it is referred to as a Single Transferable Vote.
System of proportional representation:
Votes cast by MPs and MLAs have varying weights under the proportional representation system. Additionally, the two states’ MLAs’ votes are weighted differently. The proportional representation system is the name of the process used to establish this weighting. The total number of votes cast by all of the state legislators in the nation is currently 5 million 43 thousand 231. Additionally, there are 5 lakh 43 thousand 200 Lok Sabha Members in total.
What factors decide the weightage of value of votes ?
Weightage of MLAs’ votes
The population of the state where the MLA is located can be noticed in this situation. The number of people that make up that state’s Legislative Assembly is also taken into consideration. The state’s population is divided by the number of elected MLAs to determine the weighting. The result is divided by 1000 after being so acquired. The amount that is currently available represents the weighted average of a state’s MLA’s votes. If the residue after dividing by 1000 is greater than 500, one is added to the weighting.
Weightage of MPs’ votes
The math governing the weighting of MPs’ votes varies. The weighted vote totals of the elected members of the state legislative assemblies are added first. The total number of elected MPs to the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha is now divided by this collective weighting. The resultant number is the weighted average of each MP’s vote. The weight is increased by one if this division results in a remainder greater than 0.5.
Voting results
Gaining the most votes does not guarantee victory in the presidential election. The President is the person who receives more than half of the MPs’ and MLAs’ combined weighted votes. In this election, the number of votes the winner needs to receive a certain weight is predetermined. The total weight of the members’ votes in the Electoral College for the President’s election is now 10,98,882. Therefore, the contender needs 5,49,442 votes to win. The president is chosen by the candidate who meets this quota first. But first, what do you mean?
Significance of priority
This first one’s significance must be understood in the context of vote counting. When casting their ballots, MPs or MLAs indicate on them which candidates are their top choices, second choices, third choices, etc. The first votes to be counted are the first preferences listed on each ballot. A contender has won if he or she receives the required amount of weight in this initial count alone. But if that isn’t an option, another course of action is followed.
The contender who receives the fewest votes in the initial tally is first removed from contention. However, based on the votes he received, it may be determined which candidate received the most support from his second choice. The sole votes from the second choice are then transferred to the remaining contestants’ accounts. A candidate is declared the victor if the total number of votes they have received exceeds the required threshold. If not, the contestant who received the fewest votes in the second round would be eliminated and the procedure would be replayed. In this manner, the voter’s sole vote is transferred. That is, no majority group can choose the winner in such a voting system. Other tiny groups’ votes may end up being crucial. It’s not required for the party with the majority in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to rule it, in other words. Legislators’ votes are also significant.
When second priority votes are transferred, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. If there are two candidates with the same number of votes, the candidate with the fewest first priority votes is eliminated. Even if no candidate gets the allotted quota till the end, in this process the candidates keep getting out of the race in turn and the one who is left in the end will be the winner.