Navin Chawla, new CEC to oversee 4 phases of polls

New Delhi, Apr 20: Election Commissioner, Navin Chawla will take over as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Monday, Apr 20 succeeding N Gopalaswami.

Navin Chawla will hold charge till Jul 29, 2010. Chawla, who is taking charge in the midst of the five-phased Lok Sabha elections, will oversee four phases of the polls.

As the Chief Election Commissioner, Chawla will enjoy a term of six years or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Chawla, an IAS officer of the 1969 batch, is a controversial Election Commissioner. Earlier, N Gopalaswami had advised the government to remove Chawla from office for alleged 'partisan' functioning. However, Gopalaswami's plea was rejected.

ANI