Delhi, 1 August (H.S.): The Election Commission (EC) announced that the election for the Vice President's position, vacated by Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation on July 21, will take place on September 9. The notification will be issued on August 7, initiating the nomination process, which concludes on August 21.

Dhankhar resigned unexpectedly shortly after presiding over Rajya Sabha proceedings, citing health reasons in his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu

Voting and counting will occur on September 9 in Parliament House, specifically in Room No. F-101, Vasudha, First Floor, New Delhi, according to the EC's press release.

The electoral college consists of 782 Parliament members, including 233 elected Rajya Sabha members (five seats are vacant), 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members, and 542 elected Lok Sabha members (one seat is vacant). Voting will be conducted by secret ballot using proportional representation with a single transferable vote, allowing MPs to rank candidates by preference.

A candidate must achieve a minimum number of votes, termed the quota, for election, calculated by dividing the total valid votes by two and adding one. If no candidate meets the quota in the first round, the one with the fewest votes is eliminated, redistributing their votes according to second preferences. This process continues until a candidate surpasses the quota.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar