CEC Bill: Lok Sabha passes bill to regulate service terms of India's Election Commission

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed Bill to regulate the appointment and service terms of India's Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, was passed in the Upper House of Parliament with a voice vote on December 12, 2023. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had moved the bill in the Upper House for its consideration and passage.

The bill, which was introduced in the House on August 10, seeks to replace the 1991 Act which did not have a clause related to the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners (ECs).


What does the bill say?
The bill is set to replace the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991. The bill will allow the Centre to play a key role in the appointment of CEC and ECs.

As per the Bill, the CEC and ECs will be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of a Selection Committee, which will consist of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition or leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha.

The salary and conditions of service of the CEC and ECs will be equivalent to that of the Cabinet Secretary. Under the 1991 Act, it was equivalent to the salary of a Supreme Court judge.

The selection process of the Election Commission may be dominated by the government, which has implications for its independence.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had revealed that the new legislation has been necessitated as the earlier Act had certain weaknesses.

He also rebutted Opposition allegations that the bill has been brought to circumvent a judgement of the Supreme Court related to the appointments of the CEC and the ECs.

(with agency inputs)