The President is elected by the elected members of the Vidhan Sabhas, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha, and serves for a period of 5 years (although they can stand for re-election). A formula is used to allocate votes so there is a balance between the population of each state and the number of votes assembly members from a state can cast, and to give an equal balance between state and national assembly Parliament members. If no candidate receives a majority of votes there is a system by which losing candidates are eliminated from the contest and votes for them transferred to other candidates, until one gain a majority. The Vice President is elected by a direct vote of all members elected and nominated, of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The single transferable vote system. Election for the members of the Rajya Sabha and the President are carried out using the single transferable vote system. The single transferable vote system is designed to ensure more diverse representation, by reducing the opportunity for blocks of voters to dominate minorities. The ballot paper lists all candidates standing for election and the voters' list them in order of preference. A threshold number of votes, known as the ‘quota’ is set, which candidates have to achieve to be elected. For presidential elections the quota is set at one more than half the number of votes, ensuring that the winner is the candidate who gets a clear majority. For the Rajya Sabha the quota is set at the number of votes that can be attained by just enough MPs to fill all the seats but no more. Votes that are deemed surplus, those given to candidates who have already got a full quota of votes, or votes given to candidates who are deemed to be losing candidates, are transferred according to the voter’s listed preferences, until the right number of candidates have been elected.(Back)

An independent Election Commission has been established under the Constitution in order to carry out and regulate the holding of elections in India.

The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950. Originally a Chief Election Commissioner ran the commission, but first in 1989 and later again in 1993 two additional Election Commissioners were appointed.

The Election Commission is responsible for the conduct of elections to parliament and state legislatures and to the offices of the President and Vice-President.

The Election Commission prepares, maintains and periodically updates the Electoral Roll, which shows who is entitled to vote, supervises the nomination of candidates, registers political parties, monitors the election campaign, including candidates’ funding. It also facilitates the coverage of the election process by the media, organises the polling booths where voting takes place, and looks after the counting of votes and the declaration of results. All this is done to ensure that elections can take place in an orderly and fair manner.

At present, there are two Election Commissioners appointed by the President. Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only by parliamentary impeachment.

The Commission decides most matters by consensus but in case of any dissension, the majority view prevails.

Election Commission :
Present composition Dr. M.S .GILL - Chief Election Commissioner
Dr. G.V.G. Krishnamurthy - Election Commissioner
Mr. J.M. Lynogdoh - Election Commissioner

Chief Election Commissioners :
Sukumar Sen : 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958
KVK Sundaram : 20 December 1958 to 30 September 1967
SP Sen Verma : 1 October 1967 to 30 September 1972
Dr Nagendra Singh : 1 October 1972 to 6 February 1973
T Swaminathan : 7 February 1973 to 17 June 1977
SL Shakdhar : 18 June 1977 to 17 June 1982
RK Trivedi : 18 June 1982 to 31 December 1985
RVS Peri Sastri : 1 January 1986 to 25 November 1990
Smt VS Ramadevi : 26 November 1990 to 11 December 1990
TN Seshan : 12 December 1990 to 11 December 1996
MS Gill : 12 December 1996 to present

The Commission has its headquarters in New Delhi, with a Secretariat of some 300 staff members. At the state level a Chief Electoral Officer with a core staff of varying numbers, is available on a full time basis. At the district and constituency level, officers and staff of the civil administration double up as Election officials. During actual conduct of elections, a vast number of additional staff are temporarily drafted for about two weeks. They function mainly as polling and counting officials.(Back)