What if former president of the United States, Barack Obama had you decided to run for the position of vice president? Are you eligible to do so?
This issue was hotly debated in the American media before. Joe biden collected Kamala harris like his running mate. Many analysts argued that having Obama as a running mate would give Biden the necessary boost to win. Donald trump in the 2020 White House race.
But apart from the political arguments, what are the legal provisions in this regard?
There are two US Constitutional Amendments, 12 and 22, which together address the issue of electing a president and vice president.
According to the 22nd amendment, “no person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice.” This makes it clear that Barack Obama I cannot participate in the presidential elections again.
Now, the twelfth constitutional amendment states that “no person who is not constitutionally eligible for the office of president shall be eligible for that of vice president of the United States.”
Reading these two amendments together suggests that Obama cannot even compete in the vice presidential election. But some experts argue that the 22nd Amendment only speaks of no person being “elected” more than twice to the office of president. So Obama’s ineligibility applies only if he decides to run in the presidential election. But it does not prevent Obama from running for vice presidential elections. Since he is not running for president, the 12th amendment restrictions “no person constitutionally ineligible for the office of president” will not apply to him.
Interestingly, both amendments do not prohibit the number of times a person can be elected vice president.
So far, no twice-elected president has chosen to run for vice presidency. However, if this ever happens, we can expect to have a legal fight on the matter.
And India?
First, the Constitution of India does not impose any term limits on the offices of President, Vice President and Prime Minister. A person can be elected to any of these positions as many times as they want.
Next, there are no legal restrictions for a president to become vice president or prime minister in India.
But will it be politically feasible? We cannot say yes or no with certainty.
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