Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)

Chief Election Commissioner of India UPSC

Composition of Chief Election Commissioner of India:

Originally the commission had only one election commissioner but after the Election Commissioner Amendment Act 1989, it was made a multi-member body.

The Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and such number of other election commissioners, if any, as the President may from time-to-time fix.

Presently, it consists of the CEC and two Election Commissioners.

The Chief Election Commissioner Appointed By Whom:

The Chief Election Commissioner of India heads the Election Commission of India.

This power of the Election Commission of India is derived from Article 324 of the Constitution of India.

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Chief Election Commissioner Appointed By Whom

• There is no prescribed procedure for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners as per the constitution.
• Under the Transaction of Business rules, the President shall appoint the CEC and EC based on the recommendations made by the Prime Minister. Therefore, it is the executive power of the President to appoint CEC and ECs.
• However, according to Article 324(5), the Parliament has the power to regulate the terms of conditions of service and tenure of ECs. It is under this article that the Parliament has made laws to date.

Chief Election Commissioner of India Tenure

• CEC and ECs have a fixed tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is (This tenure is fixed as per the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991).

Chief Election Commissioner Removal

• He can resign anytime or can also be removed before the expiry of their term.
• The CEC can be removed from office only through a process of removal similar to that of a SC judge by Parliament.

Chief Election Commissioner Limitations UPSC

• The Constitution has not prescribed the qualifications of the members of the Election Commission.
• The Constitution has not specified the term of the members of the Election Commission.
• The Constitution has not debarred the retiring election commissioners from any further appointment by the government.

Supreme Court on Chief Election Commissioner of India 2022

• Declining tenures of CECs: The court observed that the tenures of CECs have declined from over eight years in the 1950s to just about a few hundred days after 2004.
  • The court pointed out that since 2004, no CEC has completed the six-year tenure.
  • The previous UPA government had six CECs in just eight years. The present government had eight CECs in seven years from 2015 to 2022.
• Exploiting the silence of the constitution: The court flagged Article 324 of the Constitution, which talks about the appointment of election commissioners, but does not provide the procedure for such appointments.
  • Moreover, it had envisaged the enactment of a law by Parliament in this regard, which has not been done in the last 72 years, leading to exploitation by the Centre, it said.
• Affecting the efficacy of the institution: Due to the reduced tenure, the independence of the Election Commission is being jeopardized and the Chief Election Commissioner is unable to implement his vision and bring about electoral reforms.
• Behind our neighbours: The apex court also pointed out that the process of selection and appointment of poll panels in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal are transparent because of the presence of strong laws.
• Inclusion of CJI: The Supreme Court proposed a consultative process for the appointment of CEC and the inclusion of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in the process to ensure more independence.

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