What Is Constitution Of India Article 55?

Constitution Of India Article 55: Manner of Election of President

(1) As far as practicable, there shall be uniformity in the scale of representation of the different States at the election of the President.

(2) For the purpose of securing such uniformity among the States inter se as well as parity between the States as a whole and the Union, the number of votes which each elected member of Parliament and of the Legislative Assembly of each State is entitled to cast at such election shall be determined in the following manner:—

• (a) every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a State shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the State by the total number of the elected members of the Assembly;
• (b) if, after taking the said multiples of one thousand, the remainder is not less than five hundred, then the vote of each member referred to in sub-clause (a) shall be further increased by one;
• (c) each elected member of either House of Parliament shall have such number of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total number of votes assigned to the members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States under sub-clauses (a) and (b) by the total number of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament, fractions exceeding one-half being counted as one and other fractions being disregarded.

(3) The election of the President shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.

{1}Explanation.—In this article, the expression population means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published: Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year {2}2026 have been published, be construed as a reference to the 1971 census.

NOTE

{1}Subs. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, s. 12, for the Explanation (w.e.f. 3-1-1977).

{2}Subs. by the Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001, s. 2, for 2000 (w.e.f. 21-2-2002).

Brief Detail

Article 55 of the Constitution of India provides the process for the election of the President. It ensures uniformity in the scale of representation among States through a system that assigns votes based on population and the number of elected members from State Assemblies and Parliament.

Question & Answers

How is the number of votes determined for Presidential elections according to Article 55?

The number of votes is determined based on the population of the State and the total number of elected members in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament.

What system of voting is used for the election of the President?

The election of the President is conducted using the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, with voting by secret ballot.

Example

In the 2017 Presidential election, the voting system described in Article 55 was employed, ensuring that representation was proportionate to the population and elected members.

Summary

Article 55 outlines the process for the election of the President, emphasizing uniformity in representation through proportional representation and single transferable vote, with voting by secret ballot.