answers: President of India
context: by Mahinda Rajapaksa, is exploring possibilities to change the existing parliamentary system significantly. The government proposes that the new Senate will have around 45% of the members from the Parliament and the remaining 55% to be appointed by the President, taking the recommendations of the religious leaders and other distinguished personalities of the civil society. Therefore, the proposed Senate will have a total of 65 members, 28 Sinhalese and the rest, 37, would be appointed from minority communities, professionals and other intellectuals. The Senate was intended to act as a revising chamber, scrutinizing and amending bills which had been passed </s> Member of parliament, Lok Sabha A member of parliament in Lok Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian people in the Lok Sabha; the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of parliament of Lok Sabha are chosen by direct elections on the basis of the adult suffrage. Parliament of India is bicameral with two houses; Rajya Sabha (upper house i.e. Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (lower house i.e. House of the People). The maximum permitted strength of members of parliament in the Lok Sabha is 552. This includes maximum 530 members to represent the </s> there were only 80,708 candidates. The number of votes and seats won provides a ranking of the major political parties. The Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the parliament. 233 of its members are elected indirectly by the legislative assemblies of the states and the Electoral College of the Union Territories. The President of India appoints 12 of its members. (See Wikipedia, "Rajya Sabha"). The 233 members are elected for a six-year term. Every two years, one-third of the members retire. The elected members are chosen by proportional representation via the single transferable vote. There are twelve nominated members
question: who nominates the 12 members of the rajya sabha