Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti on Thursday took over as the 21st Chief Election Commissioner, succeeding Nasim Zaidi. Om Prakash Rawat is the other Election Commissioner in the poll panel. The Government is also soon expected to appoint one more Election Commissioner to fill up the vacancy caused by Zaidi's retirement.
Joti had joined the three-member Election Commission as an election commissioner on May 8, 2015 and would be in office till January 17, 2018. Dr. Zaidi demitted office on Wednesday after completing his tenure.
After the assumption of charge, Joti spoke about the priorities of the Commission and said that the Commission shall pursue vigorously its commitment to hold free, fair, inclusive and credible elections throughout the country. "The Commission will also pursue its mission to ensure that "No Voter to be left Behind". Thirdly, the Commission shall actively promote e-Governance for holding of elections to the State Assemblies and Parliamentary Elections in the country", Joti added.
Noteworthy, a chief election commissioner or election commissioners can have tenure of six years or hold office till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.64-year-old Joti, a 1975 batch IASofficer, had served as the chief secretary of Gujarat when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister and retired in January 2013.