Change process to appoint EC members: Advani to PM

NEW DELHI: BJP leader LK Advani has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking changes to the process of appointing Election Commission members, saying the present system was vulnerable to "manipulation and partisanship".

Advani said the decision was now in the domain of the ruling party and suggested that the new member to the EC be appointed by a "broad-based" collegium comprising the prime minister as chairman and the Chief Justice of India, law minister and leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha as its members.

"The present system whereby members to the Election Commission are appointed by the President, solely on the advice of the prime minister, does not evoke confidence among people. Keeping these important decisions as exclusive preserve of the ruling party renders the selection process vulnerable to manipulation and partisanship," Advani wrote in his letter to the PM.

A vacancy will arise in the EC following the retirement of CEC SY Quraishi later this month. "The credibility of this system was severely dented when a dubious appointment to the crucial office of CEC was made a few years ago. The time has come to reform the selection process...," he said.