Arun Goel resigns: Prez appoints two election commissioners by March 15; How ECs are chosen?

The current predicament was brought about by the retirement of former election commissioners — Anup Chandra Pandey, who left office on February 14 when he reached the age of 65 — and the shock resignation of Arun Goel, who resigned on Friday morning.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Two election commissioners are expected to be appointed by March 15 in the wake of the departure of former officer holders, Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, from the Election Commission of India recently.

While Pandey retired last month on February 14, Arun Goel announced a surprise resignation on Friday, currently leaving only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the sole member of the poll panel.

Citing sources, a PTI report said that the two vacancies are likely to be filled by March 15 and new election commissioners will be appointed by President Droupadi Murmu by that date.

How are election commissioners chosen?

As per the current setup, a search committee will be formed under the leadership of Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, which will consist of a Home Minister and a Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

The search committee will first prepare two separate panels with five names each for the two posts.

Later, a selection committee headed by the Prime Minister and comprising Union Minister and Congress Party leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will nominate two persons for appointment as Election Commissioners.

The election commissioners are appointed by the president.

The selection committee could meet on March 13 or 14 depending on the convenience of the members and the appointments are likely to be made on March 15, the PTI report said, citing sources.

Appointment of CEC and ECs

Before a new law on the appointment of CEC and ECs came into force recently, the election commissioners were appointed by the President on the recommendation of the government, and as per custom, the eldest was appointed CEC.

Clause 2 of Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the Electoral Commission shall consist of the Chief Electoral Commissioner and such number of other Electoral Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time determine.

Arun Goel resigned

The current predicament was triggered by the retirement of former election commissioners — Anup Chandra Pandey, who resigned on February 14 when she reached the age of 65 — and the shock resignation of Arun Goel, who resigned on Friday morning, days before the elections. panel is expected to announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls,

Goel’s resignation was accepted by President Murmu on Saturday and the Ministry of Justice issued a notice announcing it.

Responding to questions about the reasons behind Goel’s resignation, the sources said, according to PTI, that he may have resigned due to personal reasons.

They also rejected the suggestion that there were disagreements between Goel and Kumar, saying records of internal communications, minutes and decisions show that Goel had not registered any dissent.

“When seasoned bureaucrats brainstorm on a topic, differences in opinion and perception are bound to arise. These cannot be described as differences,” they noted.

Notably, Goel was not present at the crucial meeting between the European Commission, the top ministry of home affairs and railway officials to strengthen the deployment and movement of central forces across India for election duties.

Goel was an IAS officer of the Punjab cadre in 1985. He had joined the Election Commission in November 2022. His term would expire on December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February next year.

Ashok Lavasa had resigned as election commissioner in August 2020. He had made dissenting comments on several decisions on model code violations taken by the European Commission in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Members of the election committee

Originally, the Election Commission only had a CEC. It currently consists of the CEC and two election commissioners.

Two additional commissioners were first appointed on October 16, 1989, but they had a very short term of office until January 1, 1990. Later, on October 1, 1993, two additional election commissioners were appointed.

The concept of a multi-member EC has been in force since then, with the decision being taken by majority vote.

(With PTI inputs)