• The ECI has handled elections of about 900 million voters (2019) through machinery of 11 million personnel in a setting of economic hardship and inequalities.
• The ECI has emerged as the guardian of the Indian democracy by superintending, directing and controlling the election procedures even when it faces numerous challenges, such as being independent and unbiased.
• It has undertaken steps to keep its operations relevant through initiatives like using state-owned electronic media for political campaigning, efforts to check criminalization of politics, computerization of electoral rolls, and providing voter-identity cards.

Election Commission of India

• The ECI is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
• It was established in 1950 with the authority and decisiveness in matters of elections.
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, and offices of the President and Vice President.
• Secretariat: New Delhi
• State level: election is subject to overall superintendence, direction, and control of the Commission by the Chief Electoral Officer of the State.
• District and constituency levels: District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, and Returning Officers, perform election work.

Appointment & Tenure:

• The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (EC).
• Election Commission Act, 1991 states the tenure of 6 years, or up 65 years for its members.
• CEC enjoys the same status, salary, and perks as available to Judges of Supreme Court (SC).
• The CEC can be removed from office only by the Parliament.
• All Election Commissioners have an equal say in the decision-making
• The procedure of appointments of the CEC and the ECs has seen debates in policy and political circles ever since the Constituent Assembly debates.

• The Constituent Assembly set up a sub-committee- Union Constitution Committee to consider the equality, independence, and representation of ECI with following recommendations:
• ECI should be a permanent body of 4 or 5 members or an ad hoc body constituted during peak electoral activity.
• CEC should be appointed by a two-third majority in a joint session of both Houses of Parliament.
• But Parliament was entrusted with the charge of making appropriate laws on the matter.
• It functions as a single-member body till 1988 until the President passed an Ordinance in 1993 converting the ECI into a multi-member body.
• The CEC and two Election Commissioners are appointed by the President of India under Article 324.

Debate over appointment in ECI:

• ECI has been a focal point of differences between the government and judiciary, mainly due to clash of opinions on its appointment.
• The Supreme Court judgment directed that the CEC and the ECs will be appointed by the President of India based on the advice of a committee.
• It shall be made up of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, or the leader of the single largest Opposition party and the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• Article 324 contains a provision for such a law to be enacted by Parliament.
• The government introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha to replace the CJI from selection committee with a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
• ECI could be pushed towards further governmental control by strengthening the perception of a democratic weakening.
• The institutional structures can be drained of their substance in dealing with a matter of electoral victory and consolidation of state power.
• The prevalent system of appointment can lead to a loss of confidence among the people.

Need for autonomy:

• To raise the power of ECI on the free and fair bar and pave the way for expunging biases and attachments to the ruling party.
• To curb it from becoming a ‘committed’, partisan and incumbent-friendly entity.
• Ruling parties have a structural advantage over institutions, making them susceptible to manipulation and prejudice.
• The advisory, quasi-judicial and administrative functions of ECI are based on large-scale elections that need to remain independent from external influence.

Suggested Reforms in the system:

V.M. Tarkunde Committee (1975):

• The objective was to address concerns related to electoral process and propose measures to enhance its transparency, fairness, and efficiency.
• It is also known as J.P. Committee as it was appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan.
• It recommended reducing the voting age from 21 years to 18 years and that the ECI should be a three-member body.

Dinesh Goswami Committee on electoral reforms (1990s):

• It was appointed to suggest measures to eradicate flaws in the electoral system.
• It recommended that the CEC should be appointed by the President after consulting the CJI and the Leader of Opposition.
• CEC and EC should be made ineligible for any further appointment after completion of its tenure.
• It led to enactment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioner (Conditions of services) Act, 1961, Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1996 and 1998.

Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC):

• It recommended that appointments of ECI should be broad-based (through a collegium).

• The committee should include the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the Law Minister, Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, and a judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the CJI.
• Any monitoring of ECI by government or its nominee will be destructive of its functions and independence.

With the change in governance, the ECI needed to adjust to the evolving conditions. It has proved to be flexible with the sacred system by adapting to various modern initiatives. The ECI has significant powers that are far more prominent than its counterparts in other democracies. But its autonomy must be ensured by transparent and fair appointment process, Constitutional protection, and independent decision-making.