Appointment of Election Commissioners

Appointment of Election Commissioners

Subject – Polity

Context – Reports of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and his Election Commissioner colleagues ‘attending’ an ‘informal’ meeting with the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, late last year, has brought renewed focus on the independence and the impartiality of the Election Commission of India (ECI)

Concept –

• There is no prescribed procedure for appointment of 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.

To know more about ECI, please refer December 2021 DPN.