The process for electing the 15th President of India will begin on June 14 with the Election Commission issuing the notification for the polls.

Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi told the media on Wednesday that Presidential elections will take place on July 17.

The Commission has set June 28 as the last date for filing nominations, while July 1 will be the last date for their withdrawal.

Polling will take place in Parliament House and in the Assemblies of the States. Counting of votes will take place in Delhi, the CEC said.

Special ink

The electors, drawn from elected Members of Parliament and State legislatures will be required to use a “particular pen” provided by the Commission to mark their choice(s). The pen uses a particular ink. “The use of any other pen, apart from the particular pen provided by the Commission, will see the vote being declared invalid,” Zaidi said.

The CEC also clarified that political parties cannot issue any whip to their MPs or MLAs in the matter of voting for the Presidential elections.

At the moment, there are 13 vacancies in the electoral college, which includes three MPs and 10 MLAs.

A nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed to by at least 50 electors as proposers, and by at least another 50 as seconders. Candidates should make a security deposit of ₹15,000.

Neither the ruling National Democratic Alliance nor Opposition UPA has announced their candidates for the Presidential elections. The names of veteran NCP leader Sharad Pawar as a possible consensus candidate for the Opposition parties, and Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, for the NDA, have been doing the rounds.

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