Answered by Nitin Anad, Quora contributor, PhD in CSE from National Institute of Technology, Manipur (Expected 2025)
Not allowing ties simply implies that the ranks are distinct.
Hence 5 candidates can be ranked in 5! = 120 ways.
[5! is 5 factorial: 5 times 4 times 3 times 2 times 1]
If you allow a tie between any two candidates,
the number of ways to rank would've been
5!/2! = 120/2 = 60