EC to issue notification for Presidential poll tomorrow

New Delhi, June 15 (UNI) Process to elect the thirteenth President of the country will formally begin here from tomorrow with the Election Commission issuing a notification in this regard.

According to the schedule, the last date for filing nominations is June 30, scrutiny of papers will be held on July 2 and the last date for withdrawal is July 4.

The poll, if required, will be held on July 19 and counting of of votes be undertaken on July 21, three days before President A P J Abdul Kalam demits office.

The UPA-Left combine has already announced the candidature of Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil as its nominee while Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is expected to be fielded as an independent candidate backed by the NDA.

The election will be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote and the voting would be by secret ballot.

The entire election will be conducted through ballot papers as Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are not equipped to handle the single transferable system.

Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary has been appointed Returning Officer for the election.

As many as 776 Members of Parliament, including 543 from Lok Sabha, and 4,120 MLAs from various states, including Delhi and Puducherry, constitute the electoral college whose total vote value comes to 10,98,882 votes.

The ruling UPA alliance has got over 5.13 lakh votes while the strength of the opposition NDA is over 3.54 lakh votes and the combination of eight regional parties constituting the third front accounts for 1.05 lakh votes.

UNI