Appointment of Election Commissioners under the 2023 Act

The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 establishes the statutory mechanism for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners. It combines shortlisting by a Search Committee, recommendation by a high-level Selection Committee, and formal appointment by the President. The same mechanism applies to both categories of Election Commissioners.

Constitutional and statutory basis

Under Article 324(2), the President appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, subject to any law made by Parliament in this behalf. The 2023 Act supplies this statutory framework and requires the President to make appointments by warrant under his hand and seal.

Eligibility and shortlisting

A Search Committee, headed by the Union Minister of Law and Justice, prepares a panel of five eligible persons for consideration by the Selection Committee. Its other two members must be persons not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

• An eligible person must hold or have held a post equivalent to Secretary to the Government of India, possess integrity, and have knowledge and experience in the management and conduct of elections.
• The Selection Committee may consider a person even if the Search Committee did not include that person in its panel.

Selection Committee and appointment

The Selection Committee recommends candidates to the President. It consists of the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

• If no Leader of Opposition is formally recognised, the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha performs this role.
• The President appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners on the Selection Committee's recommendation.
• The Selection Committee's proceedings remain valid despite a vacancy or defect in its constitution.