Arun Goel Quits As Election Commissioner: What Happens Next?

Days before the expected announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned on Saturday.

Resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with effect from Saturday, a law ministry notification confirmed. Although it is not clear why he put in his papers, he resigned due to "personal" reasons, NDTV reported citing sources.

Sources denied that he decided to resign due to health issues as he is in perfect health. It is also reported that he had differences with Rajiv Kumar on file between with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

His tenure was scheduled to end on December 5, 2027, at which point he would have assumed the role of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) following the retirement of the incumbent, Rajiv Kumar, in February of the following year.

After the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and Goel's subsequent resignation, the three-member Election Commission (EC) is currently comprised of only one member: CEC Rajiv Kumar.

What Happens Next?

Retired bureaucrat Goel served as a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He commenced his tenure with the Election Commission in November 2022.

Under the new law governing the appointment of Chief Election Commissioners (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs), a search committee, led by the Law Minister and including two Union Secretaries, is tasked with shortlisting five candidates. Following this, a selection committee, chaired by the Prime Minister and featuring a Union Cabinet Minister appointed by the Prime Minister, along with the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the single-largest opposition party in the House, selects one candidate. The appointed CEC or EC is then officially designated by the President.

Ashok Lavasa resigned from his position as Election Commissioner in August 2020. During his tenure, he had issued dissent notes concerning various violations of the model code of conduct in decisions made by the EC during the last Lok Sabha elections.

Originally, the Election Commission comprised solely a CEC. Presently, it is composed of the CEC and two election commissioners.

The addition of two more commissioners initially occurred on October 16, 1989, but their tenure was brief, ending on January 1, 1990. Subsequently, on October 1, 1993, two additional election commissioners were appointed.

Since then, the multi-member structure of the EC has been operational, with decisions being reached through a majority vote.