Om Prakash Rawat appointed as new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)

Om Prakash Rawat, the senior-most Election Commissioner, has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will succeed A.K. Joti on January 23, 2018 and will have tenure of almost a year till his retirement in December 2018. Mr Rawat will oversee elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland scheduled next month. Crucial States like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will also go to the polls under his watch. Election Commissioners have a fixed term of six years but have to step down if they reach 65 years of age before their term expires.