O.P. Rawat to head poll panel

O.P. Rawat to head poll panel

Context:

• The Union Law Ministry on Sunday appointed senior most Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

Introduction:

• Former Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa was appointed as Election Commissioner to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Rawat’s elevation.
• Mr Rawat will oversee elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland scheduled next month.
• Crucial States like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will also go to the polls under his watch.

Election Commission of India:

• The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
• The Election Commission operates under the authority of Constitution per Article 324, and subsequently enacted Representation of the People Act.
• The Commission has the powers under the Constitution, to act in an appropriate manner when the enacted laws make insufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of an election.
• Being a constitutional authority, Election Commission is amongst the few institutions which function with both autonomy and freedom, along with the country’s higher judiciary, the Union Public Service Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Tenure of Election Commissioner:

• Election Commissioners have a fixed term of six years but have to step down if they reach 65 years of age before their term expires.