In a first, Union govt sets up committee to shortlist candidates for Chief Election Commissioner’s post

The process of appointing the CEC from a panel of five as per the Chief Election Commissioner And Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service And Term of Office) Act, 2023, would be a first.

The Indian Express had reported on January 11 that the selection process for the CEC would involve a panel of five names as per the Act. While the procedure was adopted for the appointment of Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu in March 2024, the new appointment process for appointing the CEC will be used for the first time. Prior to the enactment of the law, the CEC was usually appointed by elevating the senior-most EC.

It is learnt that the Law Ministry has set up the search committee of the Minister and two Secretaries (of Finance and Department of Personnel and Training) on January 17, as per provisions of the Act. The Search Committee would soon shortlist five secretary-level officers for the Selection Committee to select from, as per a source. The Act gives the Selection Committee the option of selecting a name from outside this panel of five as well. Sources say that Gyanesh Kumar, who is the senior-most EC after Rajiv Kumar, could still become CEC, but the process as prescribed in the Act would have to be followed.

-With PTI inputs