2023CLAIMCLAIMSNOT YET CHECKED
PRS flags government dominance of selection panel in its bill analysis
PRS Legislative Research's analysis of the bill noted that the selection committee would have a government majority, that a vacancy clause could leave only government members selecting, that tying pay to the Cabinet Secretary lets the executive fix it, and that restricting eligibility to Secretary-rank officers may exclude other candidates.
Attributed to PRS Legislative Research
PRS is a non-partisan research body; this is its analysis, not a finding. The PRS page carries no publication date, so only the year is given.
CHARGE AND ANSWER
Charge: This entry
Responses: No response on record.
What the record shows: Section 7: PM, a PM-nominated Cabinet Minister and LoP select CEC and ECs, Sections 5, 6, 8: Law Minister's search panel; committee may look beyond it, Sections 9-11: six-year term, SC-judge pay, CEC removable only like a judge
PRS analysed the bill as introduced. In the Act as passed, pay was changed from the Cabinet Secretary's to a Supreme Court judge's (Section 10); the panel (Section 7) and the Secretary-rank eligibility rule (Section 5) were not changed.
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- TIER 2 · RESEARCH/FILINGBill track and legislative brief: The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Bill, 2023PRS Legislative Research