India’s opposition slams gov’t as top election official quits ahead of vote
Al Jazeera
Arun Goel’s resignation leaves poll body with only one of three mandated officials to conduct the election, due by May.
India’s main opposition party has accused the government of “systematic decimation of independent institutions” after the second-highest election commission official resigned days ahead of the expected announcement of the date of the general election.
Arun Goel’s resignation as election commissioner on Saturday leaves the Election Commission of India (ECI) with only one of its three mandated top officials in their posts to conduct the world’s largest election with more than 960 million registered voters.
The Ministry of Law and Justice said in a gazette notification that President Droupadi Murmu had accepted Goel’s resignation, without citing a reason for his departure.
Goel, who took over as election commissioner in November 2022, has not yet made a public statement on his resignation. An election commission spokesman said he did not know why Goel had stepped down.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a rare third straight term in office in the general election, due by May.
