New Delhi- The Indian government has announced Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), succeeding Rajiv Kumar who will retire on February 18. Kumar, a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, was selected by a committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which included Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Additionally, Vivek Joshi, the former Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner, has been appointed as Election Commissioner.

This marks the first CEC appointment under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioner Act, 2023, which came into effect in December 2023. The Election Commission's three-member panel will now consist of Gyanesh Kumar as CEC, alongside Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. This follows recent appointments made in March 2024 to fill vacancies created by Arun Goel's resignation and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement.

Outgoing CEC Rajiv Kumar's tenure, which began when he joined as Election Commissioner in September 2020 before assuming the role of CEC in May 2022, has been notable for several achievements.

During his 4.5-year term, he oversaw elections in 31 States/UTs, the 2022 Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and various Rajya Sabha renewals. His administration was characterized by technological reforms and improved electoral management, resulting in peaceful elections with minimal incidents requiring repolling.