Why Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned just weeks before 2024 polls

New Delhi:

Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned on Saturday, just days before the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is expected to be released. President Drupadi Murmu has formally accepted Mr Goel’s resignation with immediate effect, according to a notification from the Law Ministry.

Sources told New Delhi TV that Goel blamed “personal reasons” for his resignation, despite government efforts to dissuade him from resigning. Speculations about health problems were quickly dismissed, with senior officials saying Mr Goel was in good health. Election Commission sources added that there were differences between Mr Goel and Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

The three-member Election Commission of India already has one vacancy, leaving Mr Kumar alone on the polling panel.

Mr. Goel, a retired bureaucrat and 1985-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, joined the Election Commission in November 2022.

According to sources, the date for the Lok Sabha elections is likely to be announced next week. However, Goel’s unexpected departure cast doubt on the previously expected timetable.

what happens next

The appointment process for the new central executive committee involved a search committee headed by the law minister and including two union secretaries, which resulted in the selection of five candidates. Subsequently, a selection committee headed by the Prime Minister and composed of federal cabinet ministers nominated by the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition party in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the single largest opposition party selects the final candidate. The President then formally appoints the selected CEC or EC.

A notable move before Goel’s resignation was the enactment of a new law late last year that changed the appointment process for the country’s top elected officials. Under the revised procedure, the Chief Justice of India has been excluded from the selection process.

who said what

Congress president Mallikarjun Haq took to social media to question the impact of Goel’s sudden departure. He asked whether the current state of affairs necessitated the renaming of the Electoral Commission as “Election OMISSION”.

“Election Commission or election omission? India now has only one Election Commissioner, even though the Lok Sabha elections will be announced in a few days. Why?” he asked on X.

“As I have said before, if we do not stop the systematic destruction of our independent institutions, our democracy will be usurped by dictatorships!” he added.

“Since the new procedure for the Election Commissioner has now effectively handed over all powers to the ruling party and the Prime Minister, why has the new Election Commissioner not been appointed 23 days after the end of the term? The Modi government must answer these questions and give a reasonable explanation, ” said the Congress President.

Electoral Commission or election omission?

India now has just one election commissioner, even though the Lok Sabha elections are due to be announced in a few days. Why?

As I’ve said before, if we don’t stop the systematic undermining of our independent institutions, our democracy will…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) March 9, 2024

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal also expressed Mr Haq’s concerns.

“The resignation of the Election Commissioner, Mr. Arun Goel, just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections is a matter of deep concern for the health of the world’s largest democracy,” he said.

Mr Venugopal cited Ashok Lavasa’s dissent during the 2019 elections and subsequent investigations to express concerns about the government’s influence on constitutional institutions. Mr Lavasa resigned after raising objections to multiple decisions violating the model code during the last Lok Sabha polls.

Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale has expressed concern over the appointment of two poll panelists ahead of the general elections.

“Election Commissioner Arun Goel has suddenly resigned. Another Election Commission post has fallen vacant. This leaves the Election Commission with only one Chief Election Commissioner now,” he posted on X.