Election Commissioner of India
Members of the body overseeing elections
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Through Constitution of India, President of India and Rajya Sabha
History
Since 1950, the Election Commission of India was a single member body with only the Chief Election Commissioner. As per The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1989, the Commission was made a multi-member body with two additional election commissioners who were appointed to the commission for the first time on 16 October 1989. On 1 January 1990, the post of election commissioners were abolished again. The Election Commission was once again made as a three member body on 1 October 1993.
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Role and powers
The election commissioners form part of the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national, the state legislatures, President and Vice-President. This power of the Election Commission of India is derived from the Article 324 of the Constitution of India. Election Commissioners are usually members of the Indian Civil Service. The Election Commission of India consists of a chief election commissioner and two election commissioners. The chief election commissioner does not have overruling powers and any decision is taken by the opinion of the majority among the three.
Appointment and term of office
Appointment
Election commissioners are appointed by the president of India, on the recommendation of a three-member committee, named the Selection Committee, through a majority vote. Prior to this, the committee consisted of the prime minister of India, the chief justice of India, and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Controversially, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act of 2023 replaced the role of the chief justice in the Selection Committee with a union minister, nominated by the prime minister, thus giving the ruling government a dominant role in the appointments of ECI, as was the case before SC order in 2023. The act also stated that those appointed should have previously held secretary-level positions in the government and be "persons of integrity, who have knowledge of and experience in management and conduct of elections."
Tenure
The term of the CEC can be a maximum of six years from the date on which he/she assumes his office. However, the CEC retires from office if he/she attains the age of sixty-five years before the expiry of the term.
Removal
While the CEC can only be removed by office through the process of impeachment requiring two-thirds majority of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to be present and voting for the same, election commissioners can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the CEC. In 2009, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami sent a recommendation to the then President Pratibha Patil to remove Election Commissioner Navin Chawla due to his partisan behavior in favor of a particular political party. The President opined that such a recommendation is not binding on the president and rejected the same.
Compensation
As per the Election Commission (Condition Of Service Of Election Commissions And Transaction Of Business) Act, 1991, the salary of an election commissioner is the same as salary of a Judge of Supreme Court of India. The CEC draws a monthly salary of ₹250,000 (US$2,600) plus allowances.