The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Bill, 2023 – introduced in the Rajya Sabha a day before the Monsoon session ended – expectedly seeks to restore the executive prerogative in selecting the top rung of the Election Commission of India.
For all practical purposes, the bill seeks to retain the pre-March status quo with regards to the powers of the incumbent government over the appointments of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners in the ECI. The move, however, has come with fine print that may have been overlooked.
