President appoints Arun Goel as the member of the Election Commission of India

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President Droupadi Murmu on 19 November appointed retired IAS officer Arun Goel as the Election Commissioner with effect from the date he assumes the office.

A Punjab cadre officer of the 1985 batch, Goel will join Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey in the poll panel.

Terms of Office 

• The Election commission members hold office for six years or up to 65 years of age, whichever is earlier. 
•  Once he joins his new responsibility, Goel would become the Chief Election Commissioner in February 2025.
• Goel will demit office in December 2027 on attaining the age of 65 years.

Election Commission of India 

• The Election Commission of India was constituted by the Government of India on 25 January 1950 under article 324 of the constitution. 25 January is also observed as National Voters Day in India 
• The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, Legislative Councils  in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country. 

Members of the Election Commission of India 

• The Election Commission of India can be single member or Multi member. 
• Article 324 gives the President power to appoint members to the Election Commission as he desires.
• Initially the Election Commission was a single member body with the Chief Election Commissioner post, but on 16 October 1989 President appointed two new members to the body making it a multi member body for the first time. 
• However the President again issued an order on 1 January 1990 to make it a single member body. 
• It was again made a multi member body on 1 October 1993 as the President appointed 2 new members. 
• Since then the Election Commission of India has been a three member commission.

Other things to Remember 

• The first Chief Election Commissioner of India was Sukumar Sen.
• The first woman Chief Election Commissioner of India was V.S. Rama Devi. She was the 9th Chief Election Commissioner of India and was appointed in 1990.
• The current and the 25th Chief Election Commissioner of India is Rajiv Kumar.