• Newly appointed election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge on March 15. 

• The law ministry issued a notification announcing the appointments on March 14.

• A selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met earlier in the day to recommend their names.

• Gyanesh Kumar and Sandhu, both 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, belonged to the Kerala and Uttarakhand cadres, respectively.

• They are the first ones to have been appointed as members of the Election Commission after the new law on appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and ECs came into force recently.

• The vacancies had come up in the Election Commission after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14 and the sudden resignation of Arun Goel on March 8.

• The poll panel is headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

Appointment of election commissioners

• On December 28, 2023, the President gave assent to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023.

• The Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners shall be appointed from amongst persons who are holding or have held a post equivalent to the rank of secretary to the government of India and shall be persons of integrity, who have knowledge of and experience in management and conduct of elections.

• A search committee headed by the Minister of Law and Justice and comprising two other members not below the rank of secretary to the government of India, shall prepare a panel of five persons for consideration of the selection committee, for appointment as the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners.

• The Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of:

a) Prime Minister - chairperson

b) Leader of Opposition in the House of the People - member

c) A Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the PM - member.

• The Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners shall be paid a salary which is equal to the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court.

• The Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he assumes his office or till he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

• The Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners shall not be eligible for re-appointment.

• Where an election commissioner is appointed as Chief Election Commissioner, his term of office shall not be more than six years in aggregate as the election commissioner and the Chief Election Commissioner.

• The Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.

• The other election commissioners shall not be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.

• A clause related to protection from initiation of legal proceedings against the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners for actions taken while carrying out their duties has also been introduced through the amendments.

Multi-member Commission

• The first Chief Election Commissioner (Sukumar Sen) was appointed on March 21, 1950. 

• Originally, the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. It currently consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.

• Two additional commissioners were first appointed on October 16, 1989, but they had a very short tenure till January 1, 1990. Later, on October 1, 1993, two additional election commissioners were appointed.

• The concept of multi-member Commission has been in operation since 1993, with decision making power by majority vote.

• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by Parliament.

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