Pranabjyoti Nath appointed new chief electoral officer

Thiruvananthapuram: The Election Commission of India has appointed IAS officer Pranabjyoti Nath, from the 2005 batch, as the state's new chief electoral officer (CEO). In a directive issued to chief secretary Sarada Muraleedharan on Thursday, the commission instructed the state govt to ensure Nath assumes the role immediately and to submit a compliance report within a week.Nath's appointment was made from a list of three officers submitted to the ECI on Monday, following the rejection of two previous lists proposed by the govt. The CEO position had been vacant since Aug 30.The commission's notification specifies that Nath must relinquish all other responsibilities he holds and take on no additional duties within the state govt, except as secretary of the election department. Currently, Nath serves as secretary for sports and youth affairs, as well as minority welfare.With upcoming byelections in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency and two assembly constituencies, Palakkad and Chelakkara, the state's election machinery has been without a CEO, who acts as the ECI's representative. The former CEO, Sanjay M Kaul, departed on central deputation after overseeing the 2021 assembly elections and this year's Lok Sabha elections.When a CEO is appointed, the ECI typically requires them to be relieved of other state govt duties to prevent conflicts of interest once the model code of conduct is enforced. In a previous case, the Kerala govt requested that Kaul retain his other responsibilities due to a shortage of officers at the secretary level in the state, which the ECI allowed until the 2024 Lok Sabha election notification, after which Kaul stepped down from his additional roles.
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