EC announces schedule of Vice-Presidential election, voting on August 6

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The Election Commission on Wednesday announced the schedule of the Vice-Presidential election with the polling to take place on August 6.

The term of Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu will end on August 10.

The notification will be issued on July 5 and the last date for filing nominations is July 19. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on July 20, the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures is July 22 and voting, if necessary, will take place on August 6.

The schedule of the election was finalised in a meeting of the poll panel held today which was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

The Vice-President is elected by the members of the electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

An Election Commission release said that the electoral college for the 16th vice-presidential election this year consists of 233 elected members of Rajya Sabha, 12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha, and 543 elected members of Lok Sabha.

"Electoral College comprises of a total of 788 members of both Houses of Parliament. 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 release said.

Voting will be held by secret ballot. There is no concept of open voting in this election and showing the ballot to anyone under any circumstances in the case of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections is totally prohibited.

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Political parties cannot issue any whip to their MPs in the matter of voting in the Vice-Presidential election.

Secretary-General, Lok Sabha will be the returning officer for the election.

The nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at least twenty electors as proposers and by at least other twenty electors as seconders.

An elector can subscribe to only one nomination paper of a candidate as either a proposer or a seconder.

The poll panel said that a copy of the electoral college is also being uploaded on the Commission's website.

However, the list is required to be updated after the date of issue of notification of names of 51 elected members of the Rajya Sabha and seven nominated members of the House (if filled up during election).

"Supplementary list(s) to the Electoral College will be published, as and when required," the poll panel said.

It said all related COVID-19 safeguards and protocols will be enforced in all the steps of the electoral process and, on the day of polling and counting.

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