At stake in this election:

• The office of President of India

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President A.P.J. Abdul KALAM *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH
• Assembly: India has a bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consisting of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) with 250 seats and the People's Assembly (Lok Sabha) with 545 seats.

* The electoral college consists of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by an electoral college to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), 12 members are appointed by the president to serve 6-year terms and 250 members are selected by regional legislatures to serve 6-year terms. In the People's Assembly (Lok Sabha), 543 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms and 2 members are appointed by the president.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Pratibha PATIL
  • Party: United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
• Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT
  • Party: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,179,685,631 (2007)
• Registered Voters: N/A

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 568,083,055 (2007)

·         Is India a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (30 July 1980)

·         Has India ratified CEDAW: Yes (9 July 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 45 (following the 2004 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 130 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is India a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has India ratified CRPD: Yes (1 October 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 176,952,844 (est.)