NEW DELHI: The Election Commission will not shy away from taking tough decisions while discharging its Constitutional responsibility and shall pursue electoral reforms by following the time-tested and democratic methods of consultation and consensus, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said after taking over reins of the poll body on Sunday.
Kumar, who succeeds Sushil Chandra as CEC, has been serving as election commissioner since September 1, 2020. He will have a tenure of 2 years and 9 months at the helm, during which he will preside over 2024 general elections to the Lok Sabha.
After taking charge, Kumar said that he is honoured to be given the responsibility to lead “one of the finest institutions gifted by the Indian Constitution – the institution that reinforces our democracy”.
He said that a lot has been done by ECI over the past 70 years to
give the citizens free and fair elections, to ensure purity of the electoral rolls, prevent malpractices and enhance the quality of elections.
“The Commission will follow the time-tested and democratic methods of consultations and consensus building in bringing about any major reforms for dynamically evolving contexts. And in matters for which it is responsible under the Constitution, ECI will not shy away from tough decisions,” he stated.
Kumar also said that technology will further be made the major instrument for simplification of processes and practices for bringing about transparency and ease of voter services for better election management and operations.
