The election for choosing the new vice president is underway in the Parliament on Saturday and the results will be announced later in the evening. NDA's Jagdeep Dhankar and Oppositions Margarate Alva are two forerunners and Dhankar is expected to win.
The voting will continue till 5 pm on Saturday and the results are also likely to be announced soon after. As we wait to know who will be the next vice-president of India, here's a look at how the election of the vice president takes place. The vice-president is scheduled to take oath on August 11.
What is the eligibility criteria?
The vice presidential candidate has to be a citizen of India. They have to be at least 35 years of age and should meet all the qualifications needs to be a member of the Rajya Sabha. Some of these include that they should not be a "proclaimed criminal", and must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India, the state governments or any local authority. They should not be in debt and must have the ability to meet their own personal expenses.
Who votes?
An electoral college votes for the chosen vice-presidential candidates which consists of 780 members of Parliament, 543 from the Lok Sabha and 245 from the Rajya Sabha. NDTV reported that Saturday only 744 members of Parliament are likely to vote as 36 members of the TMC have decided to abstain from voting and eight seats are vacant.
Nominations
A Returning Officers, usually the secretary-general of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha is appointed to conduct the election. They issue a public notice to invite the nomination of candidates and where the nomination papers have to be delivered. A candidate must be nominated by at least 20 MPs as proposers and at least 20 MPs as seconders.
The nominee must present their papers to the Returning Officer by the stipulated deadline. The Returning Officer only accepts a maximum of four nomination papers by, or on behalf of, any candidate. The Returning Officer, along with the proposer or seconder and any other authorised person scrutinises the application.
The candidate has to deposit a sum of security of Rs 15,000. This is the total amount, no matter how many nominations they file. The nominee is also allowed to withdraw their candidature by writing to the Returning Officer.
What is the voting and counting process?
The elections process and voting must be held and completed before the term of the current vice president expires. In case of death or other unforeseen circumstances, the elections must be held as soon as possible.The elections are carried out by the election commission of India and are held through secret ballots. The voters can choose preferences in their ballots, and mention as many preferences as there are candidates.
According to the official website of the vice president of India, "The number of first preference votes secured by each candidate is ascertained. The numbers so ascertained are added up - the total is divided by two and one is added to the quotient disregarding any remainder. The resulting number is the quota sufficient for a candidate to secure his return at the election. If at the end of the first or any subsequent count, the total number of votes credited to any candidate is equal to, or greater than the quota, that candidate is declared elected. If at the end of any count, no candidate can be declared elected."