ELECTION
COMMISSION OF INDIA
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi-110001
PRESS NOTE
Subject: Election to the office of Vice-President, 2002 (12th Vice-Presidential election)
The term of office of Shri
Krishan Kant, Vice-President of India, ends on 20th August, 2002.
An
election to fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of
office of the outgoing Vice-President shall need to be completed before the
expiration of his term. The law provides that the notification for election
shall be issued on, or as soon as conveniently may be after, the sixtieth day
before the expiry of term of office of the outgoing Vice-President.
2.
Article 324 of the Constitution read with the Presidential and
Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, and the Presidential and
Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974, vests the superintendence, direction
and control of the conduct of election to the office of the Vice-President of
India in the Election Commission of India. The Election Commission is mandated
to ensure that the election to the office of the Vice-President of India must be
a free and fair election and the Commission is taking all necessary steps for
discharging its responsibility.
3.
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.
The nominated Members of either Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha are also
eligible to be included in the Electoral College and therefore, they are
entitled to participate in the voting.
4.
The Electoral College for election of the Vice-President consists of the
following members:
a)
Rajya Sabha:
Elected
233
Nominated
12
b)
Lok Sabha:
Elected
543
Nominated
2
Total
790
5. The Election
Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, has decided to appoint
the Secretary General to the Lok Sabha as the Returning Officer for the
election. The Commission has also
decided to appoint Assistant Returning Officers from amongst the officers of the
Lok Sabha Secretariat to assist the Returning Officer.
6. In pursuance of sub-section (1) of section (4) of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, the Election Commission of India has fixed the following programme for the election to fill the office of the Vice-President of India:
| 1. | Issue of Election Commission’s notification calling the election | 10.7.2002(WEDNESDAY) |
| 2. | Last date for making nominations | 24.7.2002 (WEDNESDAY) |
| 3. | Date for the scrutiny of nominations |
25.7.2002
(THURSDAY) |
| 4. | Last
da |
27.7.200 |
| 5. | Date
on which a poll shall, if necessary, be taken Hours of poll |
12.8.2002
(MONDAY) 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM |
| 6. | Date on which counting, if required, shall be taken | 1 |
7.
The nomination paper of a candidate must be delivered to the Returning
Officer at New Delhi in the place to be specified by him by a public notice
either by the candidate or by any of his proposers or seconders between 11.00
a.m. and 3.00 p.m. A nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at
least twenty electors as proposers and at least twenty electors as seconders. An
elector can subscribe to only one nomination paper of a candidate as either a
proposer or a seconder. The security deposit for the election is Rs. 15,000/-
(Rupees fifteen thousand only) which is required to be made along with the
nomination paper.
8.
The list of Members of the Electoral College maintained by the Commission
for the Vice-Presidential Election, 2002 is available in English and Hindi
separately for sale at a price of Rs.200/- per copy from the counter opened in
the premises of the Election Commission.
(C.R. Brahmam)
Secretary