Constitutional Bodies – Chief Election Commissioner

The election commission of India is an authority empowered by the constitution to conduct free and fair election processes and make sure that these processes take place without any mishappenings or frauds. The head of this authority is the Chief Election Commissioner of India. The chief election commissioner is mostly from the Indian Administrative Service. Once appointed, it’s very difficult to remove them. To remove this authority, at least two-thirds of both the Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) should vote against them. Also, this vote is only done under circumstances of improper actions or disorderly conduct.

Constitutional Bodies:

The Indian constitution prescribes the formation of the constitutional authorities. Its rights and powers are in the hands of the Constitution itself. The constitutional bodies’ powers and functions cannot be changed by any regular, private, or government bill but only by passing a constitutional amendment bill. There are various bodies under the Constitution of India, and the real meaning of constitutional bodies will be understood after reading the full article. The authorities enjoy different powers, have different features and functions, and have different responsibilities that they need to fulfil. 

Constitutional bodies have many responsibilities and perform many functions according to which a country or a state is constituted or governed.

Some  important Functions of the Constitution are the following:

• The most important function of the constitution is to ensure the fundamental rights of its citizens.
• The constitution is responsible for laying out the procedures for several administrations, functions, execution of the government machinery, and legislation.

•  A set of basic rules is provided by the constitution that maintains the harmony of society.
• The specification of who makes decisions in society lies in the hands of the constitution.
• The constitution limits the government to impose decisions on the citizens.
• The constitution encourages the government to fulfil citizens’ aspirations.
• The constitution limits the government to impose decisions on the citizens.
• The constitution encourages the government to fulfil citizens’ aspirations.
• The constitution defines the powers of the organs of government.
• It states the fundamental principles, aspirations and objectives of a country.
• It helps to protect the rights of the citizens.
• It helps to prevent arbitrarily ruled by the leaders.
• It explains the “do’s and don’ts of the government.
• It specifies the system of government to be adopted.

Types of Constitutional Bodies:

• Election Commission

1. Finance Commission
2. State Public Service Commission
3. Attorney General of India
4. Comptroller and Auditor General of India
5. Advocate General of the State
6. Inter-State Council
7. Goods and Services Tax Council
8. Union Public Service Commission

Types of elections conducted by the election commission:

DIRECT ELECTION

This is the type of election where people choose their representatives. E.g., The elections to the State legislature and Parliament.

INDIRECT ELECTION

This type of election is where people do not choose their representatives. E.g., Vice-President and President elections.

Roles and responsibilities of the chief election commissioner:

1. The chief election commissioner is the major person to ensure that the election process takes place without any hassles. And that it is conducted freely and fairly.
2. The chief election commissioner has to make sure that all the political parties submit their financial reports on time regularly. 
3. The election commission defines a model code of conduct for all political parties. It is the responsibility of the chief election commissioner to ensure that this code of conduct is taken care of and followed properly during the time of elections. 
4. One of the duties of the chief election commissioner also includes regulating the campaign expenditure per candidate for all political parties. 

Functions of the chief election commissioner:

1. The election commision of India solely does the conduction of election processes for all 543 parliamentary constitutions. The major function of the chief election commissioner is to make sure that all the processes falling under this takes place without any mishappening or fraud and that people get to cast their vote in a free and fair manner. The election commission sets up a moral code of conduct that all political parties must follow during elections. The chief election commissioner makes sure that this is done.
2. The complete authority of how the elections will be conducted, where they will be conducted, and when they will be conducted lies with the election commission itself. There is no interference from the Executive. So, the chief election commissioner has to ensure what type of elections are being conducted and how the process will occur.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we have discussed everything about the chief election commissioner. We have discussed all its roles, responsibilities, and powers that it has been a constitutional body of India. The constitutional bodies’ powers and functions cannot be changed by any regular, private, or government bill but only by passing a constitutional amendment bill.

The chief election commissioner is mostly from the Indian Administrative Service. The major function of the chief election commissioner is to make sure that all the election processes take place without any mishappening or fraud and that people get to cast their vote in a free and fair manner.