How House terms and poll schedules are decided

These four states — Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha — have historically gone to polls simultaneously with Lok Sabha.

What was the original schedule for the election and counting in these two states?

According to the schedule announced on March 16, the Assembly elections in Arunachal and Sikkim would be notified on March 20, nominations can be filed until March 27 and withdrawn until March 30, and votes for both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be cast on April 19, the date for the first phase of polling.

Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases — on April 19 and 26; May 7, 13, 20, and 26; and June 1. Twenty two states and Union Territories, including Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, will have one-day elections.

Counting for all seats in Lok Sabha and the four Assemblies would happen on June 4, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar had said.

So what has changed now?

A day after the election announcement, the ECI said counting for Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim would take place on June 2 instead of June 4.

According to ECI officials, it was realised after the announcement had been made that the Assemblies were coming to the end of their terms on June 2, and that counting had to be brought forward because the election process has to be completed before the term of an Assembly ends.

What exactly does the Constitution say about the terms of state Assemblies and Lok Sabha?

Under the Constitution, the terms of both state Assemblies and Lok Sabha last for five years from the first sitting of the House.

Article 172(1) states: “Every Legislative Assembly of every State, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer and the expiration of the said period of five years shall operate as a dissolution of the Assembly”.

The term of the Assembly “may, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, be extended by Parliament…for a period not exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case beyond a period of six months after the Proclamation has ceased to operate”.

For Lok Sabha, Article 83(2) states: “The House of the People, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer and the expiration of the said period of five years shall operate as a dissolution of the House.”

How does this apply to the Assemblies of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim?

The existing Assemblies of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh met for the first time on June 3, 2019, and their terms will, therefore, end on June 2, 2024.

Officials said that counting will be completed and results will be announced before midnight on that day, and the Governors of the two states can then issue notifications to constitute the new Assemblies.

What are the things that the ECI looks at while fixing the election schedule?

It is standard procedure for the ECI to consider factors such as the weather, festivals, and important examinations, as well the availability of school buildings, where polling stations are often set up, and teachers, who are mobilised for election duty, while deciding the schedule of elections. CEC Kumar spoke of the country’s “historical and geographic” situation, and the logistics requirements of moving security forces to ensure free and fair elections.

Several serving and former election officials said the date of expiration of the term of the legislature is the “first thing” that is taken into consideration. This date is known a full five years in advance, as it is calculated from the date of the first sitting of the existing House.

Former CEC S Y Quraishi told The Indian Express that as the “term of the House is sacrosanct”, the Election Commissioners and Deputy Election Commissioners have these dates “on their fingertips”. The ECI works towards completing the election process at least one day before the end of the term of the House — which means results are declared a few days prior, and one or two days are kept for the completion of documentation and other formalities, he said.

An ECI spokesperson on Monday declined to comment on how the oversight may have happened.

Has something similar occurred earlier too?

Retired election officials could not recall an earlier instance in which the date of counting has had to be changed after being announced for this reason.

However, the ECI has in the past drawn up schedules delinking the counting in a particular state from the counting in the rest of the country (or from the counting of other elections held together). In 2004, the tenure of the Assembly in Andhra Pradesh was to end on May 13, the same day that counting for Lok Sabha and other states was scheduled. So the counting in AP was scheduled for May 11.

The ECI does make changes to the announced election schedule to accommodate a festival or a locally relevant event. Last year, the date of counting for the Assembly election in Mizoram was changed from December 3 — when votes in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana were counted — to December 4 because December 3 was a Sunday and, according to the ECI, Sundays hold “special significance for the people of [Christian-majority] Mizoram [who may be attending Church]”.