The method of electing the President of India, by proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, was borrowed from the constitution of:

The method of electing the President of India, by an electoral college using the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, was borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland.

The President of Ireland:

• Ireland's President is elected by the system of proportional representation with the single transferable vote, although in Ireland the election is direct, by the people.
• India adopted the method of voting, but made the election indirect.

Election of the President of India:

• The President is elected indirectly by an electoral college.
• The electoral college consists of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament, and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
• Nominated members of Parliament and of the state assemblies, and members of the state legislative councils, do not take part in the election.
• The voting is by secret ballot.

The single transferable vote:

• Each voter marks his or her preferences (1, 2, 3 and so on) against the names of the candidates.
• To win, a candidate must get a fixed quota of votes: more than half of the total valid votes.
• If no candidate gets the quota on the first preferences, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and his or her votes are transferred to the other candidates according to the second preferences.

Value of votes:

The value of each vote is calculated on the basis of population, so that there is uniformity among the states, and parity between the states as a whole and the Union.

Why an indirect election:

The makers of the Constitution felt that a directly elected President might become a rival centre of power to the Prime Minister, which would not suit a parliamentary system.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The USA, France and Germany use other methods to elect their heads of state.