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Prez Election: Right to vote or not to vote
Certain doubts have arisen in the minds of some of the electors at the current Presidential Election, 2017 to the effect whether a member of a political party voting in defiance of the political party’s decision would attract the disqualification on the ground of defection under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India or the political party taking such decision would be liable to any penal
Certain doubts have arisen in the minds of some of the electors at the current Presidential Election, 2017 to the effect whether a member of a political party voting in defiance of the political party’s decision would attract the disqualification on the ground of defection under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India or the political party taking such decision would be liable to any penalty for asking their members to vote in a particular manner or not to vote at all.
The voting at election to the Office of President of India is not compulsory, like the voting at elections to the House of the People and State Legislatures where also there is no compulsion to vote.
The ‘electoral right’ of a voter is defined in section 171A(b) of the Indian Penal code to ‘mean the right of a person to stand, or not to stand as, or to withdraw from being, a candidate or to vote or refrain from voting at election’.
Political parties cannot issue any direction or whip to their members to vote in a particular manner or not to vote, as that would tantamount to the offence of undue influence within the meaning of section 171C of the IPC.
The election to the Office of the president is held by an electoral college which consists of elected members of both House of Parliament and elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies (Article 54 of the Constitution).
The electors of this electoral college vote at the Presidential election as member or the said electoral college and the voting at such election is outside the House concerned and not a part of the proceeding of the House.
Therefore, the voting or not voting as per his/her own free will at the Presidential election will not come within the ambit of disqualification under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India and the electors are at liberty to vote or not to vote at the Presidential election as per their own free will and choice.
