Vice-Presidential election: ECI appoints returning officer and assistants

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha as the returning officer for the upcoming Vice-Presidential election. The decision follows established convention, with the role rotating between the Secretaries General of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The appointments were made under Section 3 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, in consultation with the Union Ministry of Law and Justice and with the consent of the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In addition to the returning officer, the ECI has appointed Garima Jain, Joint Secretary, and Vijay Kumar, Director, both from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, as assistant returning officers for the election.
The Vice-Presidential election is conducted under Article 324 of the Constitution and governed by the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, along with the accompanying rules from 1974. On Wednesday, the ECI initiated the process to conduct Vice-Presidential election, two days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post citing health reasons. “The Election Commission of India, under Article 324, is mandated to conduct the election to the office of the Vice President of India. The election to the office of the Vice President of India is governed by The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 and the rules made thereunder, namely The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974,” said the ECI.
Under Article 66(1) of the Constitution, the Vice-President is elected by an electoral college comprising members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, using the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, with voting conducted by secret ballot. Dhankhar’s tenure was originally set to end on August 10, 2027.