Election Commissioner OP Rawat was on Sunday appointed as the 22nd chief election commissioner (CEC) of India with effect from January 23. President Ram Nath Kovind has cleared Rawat's appointment, said a notification by ministry of law and justice issued on Sunday. Chief Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti will demit the Office of the Chief Election Commissioner on the January 22, 2018. Sunil Arora is the other election commissioner. In another development, President has appointed former Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa as a new election commissioner. Lavasa was a 1980 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer.
An EC or a CEC has a tenure of six years in office or till he or she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
Rawat, a 1977 batch IAS officer from MP cadre, retired in December 2013 to be reappointed as EC on August 14, 2015. He is also a recipient of PM's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration in 2010 for recognition of forest rights in Madhya Pradesh. Prior to his appointment in the Election Commission, Rawat had retired as Secretary to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Department of Public Enterprises on December 31, 2013 on superannuation.
He had recused himself from all AAP-related cases pending with the Election Commission after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged in an interview that the two election commissioners are politically aligned.