NEW DELHI: The 16th Presidential election will be held on July 18 and the counting of votes will be held on July 21, said the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar said the term of office of President Ram Nath Kovind will be ending on July 24.
Kumar further said, “The value of the vote of an MP will be 700. Those in preventive detention can vote and those in jail will have to apply for parole and, if they get parole, they can vote.”
He stated that the total value of votes for MLAs for the 16th Presidential election is 5,43,231. The total value of votes for MPs is 5,43,200. The total value of the vote of electors for the Presidential election is 10,86,431.
According to the ECI, the date for notification call is June 15, while last the date for filing nominations is June 29. Scrutiny of nominations will be on June 30 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 2.
As per Article 62 of the Constitution, an election for the next president must be held before the completion of the incumbent’s term. “A total of 4,809 electors will vote in the Presidential elections. No political party can issue a whip to its members,” said Kumar.
As per Article 54 of the Constitution of India, the President is elected by 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 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 Legislative Councils are also not electors for the Presidential election.
Previously, the Presidential election was held on July 17, 2017, while the declaration of the winner was made three days later on July 20. (ANI)