Election Commission of India
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The Election Commission of India is a constitutional body created to hold free and fair elections in India. It was established on January 25, 1950.
The Constitution of India has vested in the Election Commission of India the superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India.
The law which governs all elections in India as mentioned above is the Representation of People Act, 1950.
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Structure
The commission presently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. Originally, however, the commission had just one Chief Commissioner. Two Commissioners were appointed for the first time on October 16, 1989 but there tenure lasted only till January 1, 1990. On October 1, 1993, two additional Election Commissioners were appointed. The commission has followed the multi-member structure since then, with decisions taken a by majority vote.
The Election Commission has a Secretariat at New Delhi consisting of about 300 officials.
T. S. Krishna Murthy is the present Chief Election Commissioner of India. B B Tandon is expected to succeed T S Krishna Murthy on May 16, 2005 [1] (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1087949.cms).
Chief Commissioners
- Sukumar Sen : 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958
- KVK Sundaram : 20 December 1958 to 30 September 1967
- SP Sen Verma : 1 October 1967 to 30 September 1972
- Dr Nagendra Singh : 1 October 1972 to 6 February 1973
- T Swaminathan : 7 February 1973 to 17 June 1977
- SL Shakdhar : 18 June 1977 to 17 June 1982
- RK Trivedi : 18 June 1982 to 31 December 1985
- RVS Peri Sastri : 1 January 1986 to 25 November 1990
- Smt VS Ramadevi : 26 November 1990 to 11 December 1990
- T.N. Seshan : 12 December 1990 to 11 December 1996
- MS Gill : 12 December 1996 to 13 June 2001
- JM Lyngdoh : 14 June 2001 to 7 February 2004
- TS Krishna Murthy : 8 Februrary, 2004 to present.
- BB Tandon expected to take over from TS Krishna Murthy on May 16, 2005
Appointment & Tenure of Commissioners
The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by Parliament.
External link
- Official site (http://www.eci.gov.in/)