Electoral College

Electoral College

Electoral College:

• • The members of the Electoral College elect the Vice-President in accordance with Article 66 of the Indian Constitution.

Electoral College consists of:

• • Elected members of Rajya Sabha.
  • Nominated members of Rajya Sabha.
  • Elected members of Lok Sabha.

What is the Election Procedure?

• • In accordance with Article 68 of the Constitution, the election to replace the departing vice president’s term of office must be concluded prior to the term’s expiration. 
  • The Election Commission of India is entrusted with superintendence, direction, and control over the conduct of elections for the office of Vice-President of India, as per Article 324 of the Constitution, as well as the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, and the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974.
  • The election notification must be sent out on or before the sixty-first day prior to the departing vice president’s term of office ending. 
  • Since all the electors are members of both Houses of Parliament, the value of the vote of each Member of Parliament would be the same i.e.1 (one).
  • The value of each member of Parliament’s vote would be equal to 1 (one) as all electors are members of both Houses of Parliament. 
  • The Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are appointed as the Returning Officers on a rotating basis by the Election Commission, in collaboration with the Central Government.
  • Consequently, for the current election to the Office of the Vice-President of India, the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha will be designated as the Returning Officer.
  • In order to support Returning Officers, the Commission also chooses to assign Assistant Returning Officers to Parliament House (Lok Sabha). 
  • Polls for the election are conducted in Parliament House in accordance with Rule 8 of the 1974 Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules. 

Lok sabha

• • System of Election to Lok Sabha

The following criteria are used to elect members of the Lok Sabha:

• • Universal Adult Franchise (Article 326)
  • Voting in Lok Sabha elections is open to all citizens who have reached the legal voting age of eighteen (as specified by the 61st Amendment Act).
  •  However, it is imperative that his name appears on his district’s list of registered voters.
    Reservations made for seats for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes
    
    
  • Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes have designated constituencies. We call these “Reserved Constituencies.” 
  • In any reserved constituency, only candidates who are members of the SCs or STs, as applicable, are entitled to compete for office.
  • Every voter in each of these constituencies exercises their right to vote in order to choose one SC or ST candidate to represent them. 
  • Based on population percentages, the Loksabha reserves space for scheduled tribes and scheduled castes. 

Single-member territorial constituencies

• • The whole nation divides into a number of territorial constituencies equal to the number of Lok Sabha members to be elected. One MP is chosen from each constituency.

First Past The Post System

• • Every member of the Lok Sabha is directly elected by the people. Voters have the right to cast ballots for any candidate from their preferred constituency. 
  • To represent the people of a constituency in the Lok Sabha, the candidate with the highest total number of votes among all the contenders in that constituency is selected.

Duration of Lok Sabha

• • The Lok Sabha is not a body that meets continuously. 
  • It will automatically dissolve after its customary term of five years, which begins on the day of its first meeting following the general elections.
  • Nonetheless, the President may dissolve the Lok Sabha at any moment, even before the five years have passed, and there is no legal recourse for this. 
  • Furthermore, a statute passed by Parliament may prolong the Lok Sabha’s term for up to one year at a time under a state of national emergency. 
  • This extension, however, is only valid for a maximum of six months from the emergency’s closure. 

Rajya sabha

Process of Rajya Sabha Election

• • The representatives of the States and the Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the method of indirect election.
  • The representatives of each State and two Union territories are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of that State and by the members of the Electoral College for that Union Territory, as the case may be, by the system of proportional representation using the single transferable vote.

Election to Rajya Sabha: 

• • Procedure Illustrated with an Example
  • According to Schedule 4 of the constitution, each state’s allotted number of Rajya Sabha seats is determined. Every two years, elections are held for a third of these seats. Consider a state where a three-seat Rajya Sabha election is being held. 
  • Let the legislative assembly consist of just two parties.
  •  There are 40 seats in party B and 100 seats in party A. For the three Rajya Sabha seats, each party may field three candidates.
  • A candidate needs to receive the necessary amount of votes in order to win a Rajya Sabha seat. The formula below is used to find that number, or the quotient. 
  • Total votes cast divided by (number of Rajya Sabha seats + 1) + 1 equals the quotient. 
  • To win in the above scenario, a candidate needs (140/4)+1, or 36 votes.
  • Members do not cast ballots for every seat. Only the delegates of the ruling party would have passed if that had been the case. Instead, the members rank their preferences (as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). 
  • A candidate is elected if 36 or more members select him as their top choice. Therefore, if members of Party B, the opposition party with 40 seats in the Loksabha parliament, choose a candidate as their top choice, Party B may elect one member. 
  • On the other side, Party A, which is now in power, has the potential to elect two members (72 out of 100).

Legislative council

• • A state’s Legislative Council may not have fewer than 40 members or more than one-third of the State Assembly’s total membership, as stated in Article 171 of the Constitution. 
  • The legislative council is a continuing chamber, meaning that it is a permanent body that cannot be dissolved, just as the Rajya Sabha. A third of the Legislative Council’s (MLC) members retire every two years, during their six-year term of office.

Manner of Election:

• • The state’s MLAs elect one-third of the MLCs; a special electorate made up of current members of local governments including municipalities and district boards elects another one-third; an electorate made up of teachers elects one-twelfth; and registered graduates chooses one-twelfth. 
  • The governor appoints the remaining members in recognition of their remarkable contributions to the cooperative movement, literature, science, art, and social service, among other fields. 

LC in comparison to Rajya Sabha: 

• • The Councils’ ability to enact laws is restricted. Legislative Councils are not required by the constitution to form non-financial legislation, in contrast to the Rajya Sabha, which has considerable authority in this area.
  • Legislative recommendations and revisions issued by the Council are subject to override by assemblies. 
  • Again, MLCs are not allowed to cast ballots in elections for President and Vice President, in contrast to Rajya Sabha MPs. 
  • The chairperson of the Rajya Sabha is the Vice President, and the chairperson of the Council is selected from among its members. 

Role of Legislative Council:

• • It can guarantee that people (such as artists, scientists, and others) who might not be good candidates for office can nonetheless participate in the legislative process. 
  • It can monitor snap judgements made by the Legislative Assembly.

Arguments Against Legislative Council:

• • Legislation may be postponed, and the state budget may be burdened. 
  • It can also be applied to park leaders who have failed to secure election victories.

Legislative assembly

• • Similar to the Lok Sabha at the federal level, the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) is the Lower House of the State Legislature. 
  • With members chosen directly by the electorate, it represents the will of the people of the state.

Composition of the Assembly

• • According to Article 170(1), the Legislative Assembly of each state must be composed of no fewer than 60 or more members, who are selected by direct election from state-wide constituencies. 
  • Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Goa are the exceptions, with minimums set at 30, 40, and 46 respectively for Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim.
    
    

Qualifications for the Houses

• • In accordance with Article 173, an Indian citizen who satisfies the age requirements of not less than 25 years for the Legislative Assembly and not less than 30 years for the Legislative Council may be selected to occupy a seat in the state legislature. 
  • possesses any additional requirements that may be imposed in this regard by or under any legislation passed by Parliament
    
    

Duration of Assembly:

• • Every state’s Legislative Assembly will exist for five years following the date of its inaugural sitting, unless it is dissolved earlier. 
  • The term of the assembly may be extended by Parliament by legislation while a proclamation of emergency is in effect, but only for a maximum of one year at a time and never more than six months after the proclamation has ended.

local Body Election Process in India

• • The elections for Municipal Corporations, Municipalities, District Panchayats, Gramme Panchayats, and other local organisations follow a different procedure than that of Parliamentary and Assembly elections. 
  • It should be mentioned that the State Election Commissions (SECs) have the authority to hold elections for Corporations, Municipalities, Zilla Parishads, District Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Gramme Panchayats, and other local bodies. 
  • The model code of conduct forbids ministers and other authorities from making any ad hoc appointments in the government that could sway voters in favour of the ruling party, in addition to forbidding them from announcing any financial grants, new schemes, or development projects prior to the elections.

Elections to Municipal Corporations: 

• • A state government agency called Municipal Corporation was founded in a metropolis with a population of one million or more. 
  • The candidates for the offices are chosen directly by the electorate in once-every five years elections. 
  • State election commissions supervise the way they are carried out. 
  • Elections are organised by the state government in some states, although the Executive Officers are in charge in others. 
  • All recognised political parties recognised by the Indian Election Commission are qualified to run in the Corporation election. 

Municipality Elections: 

• • An urban local authority called a municipality, also known as a Nagar Palika, is in charge of managing larger towns with a population of 100,000 or more as well as smaller district cities. 
  • The Municipality’s members are chosen to serve five-year terms. 
  • The town is divided into wards based on population during Municipality elections, and voters choose their representatives directly from each ward. 
  • Following the election, the elected members choose a president from among themselves to lead the municipality’s meetings. 

Elections to Nagar Panchayat: 

• • These local government organisations, often called Notified Area Councils, are found in cities with populations between 11,000 and 25,000. 
  • The Nagar Panchayat members are chosen to serve five-year terms.
    A few of the Nagar Panchayat’s ward electorates exercise their right to vote. 
  • Seats are set aside for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and backward classes, in addition to women. 

Zila Parishad Elections: 

• • The Zila Parishad, also known as the District Council, is an elected body whose members are chosen for a five-year term using the adult franchise. 
  • It can have up to 75 members, with 50 being the minimum required.
    Members of the state legislature and the Parliament are also members of the Zila Parishad, in addition to the elected council members from the district’s electoral divisions. 
  • Additionally, seats are set aside for women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and lower social classes. 

Village Panchayat Elections: 

• • Every community with 500 or more residents must have a Gramme Panchayat. The villagers choose its members, who serve five-year terms. 
  • A Gramme Panchayat’s membership is determined by the population’s size. Usually, it ranges from 7 to 17.
  • The District Collector, Tehsildar, and the State Election Commissioner work together to conduct the Gramme Panchayat elections. 
  • The Tehsildar is the one who declares the election date. In Gramme Panchayat elections, one-third of the seats are set aside for female candidates. 
  • The Gramme Panchayat is said to have officially begun operating on the day that its elected members convene for the first time. 

Panchayat Samiti Elections: 

• • The tehsil (taluka) local government entity serves as a crucial conduit between the Zila Parishad and the Gramme Panchayat. 
  • The members of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state legislature, and heads of the Gramme Panchayats in the block comprise the samiti, which is made up of elected representatives from the area. 
  • Panchayat Samiti also includes the Block Development Officer, women, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, and scheduled caste delegates, as well as representatives of the farming community. 
  • Every Samiti is chosen for a five-year term. 

State Election Commission:

• • The State Election Commission, which is made up of a State Election Commissioner, is empowered under the Indian Constitution. 
  • SEC is granted superintendence, supervision, and control over the creation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections for Panchayats and Municipalities under Articles 243K and 243ZA.
  • It specifies that appointments and tenure will be determined by the laws passed by the state legislature. 
  • State Election Commissioners, however, cannot be removed from their positions unless they follow the same procedures and standards as High Court judges. 
  • The Governor appoints the State Election Commissioner.
  • In accordance with article 243(C3), the Governor shall, upon request from the State Election Commission, make such staff members as may be required for the State Election Commission to carry out the duties assigned to it. 
  • The requirements of Article 324 pertaining to the EC are nearly identical to those of Article 243K of the Constitution, which allows for the establishment of SECs. Stated differently, the SECs have the same standing as the EC.