New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday appointed the senior-most Election Commissioner, Dr Nasim Zaidi, as the next Chief Election Commissioner ( CEC) of the country. The law ministry has initiated the file to appoint the next CEC as present incumbent HS Brahma retires on April 19.
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leaving on a foreign tour from Thursday, there is sense of urgency to clear the paperwork on Wednesday as the file will travel to Rashtrapati Bhawan for the President to appoint the CEC.
After Zaidi’s appointment, the government will set in motion the process to appoint two election commissioners to fill vacancies in the three-member body. “But as of now, we are appointing a new CEC. A decision on ECs will come later,” a senior government functionary said.
After V S Sampath demitted office in January, Brahma was elevated as CEC. But the post which fell vacant after Brahma’s elevation has not been filled up so far.
Zaidi will have tenure up to July, 2017 when he attains the age of 65. An EC or a CEC has a tenure of six years in office or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier. A 1976 batch IAS officer, Zaidi has worked in the civil aviation ministry for a long time.
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply