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What does CEC stand For?

CEC means Chief Election Commissioner. The Chief Election Commissioner is the chairman of the Election Commission Of India (ECI). The ECI is an autonomous body in India and is responsible for conducting fair elections.  

The ECI and CEC play a crucial role and are the most important when it comes to maintaining the democracy of India.The CEC plays a significant role in maintaining the integrity of the electoral process in directing and monitoring the elections for Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice-President of India.

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Pillars of Electoral Integrity: The CEC’s Role

The CEC heads the ECI and plays the role of Guardian of the Ballot. The role of CEC is described below:

• Ensures Transparency and fairness- Looks that the elections are conducted in a transparent method, he looks out for any biases and ensures fairness in all aspects of the electoral process.
• Upholding Electoral Regulations - Upholds the legal framework laid out for the electoral process.
• Campaign Oversight and Compliance- Regulates the code of conduct followed by the political parties and candidates.
• Ensuring Voter Empowerment- Educates the voter of their rights by facilitating voter education and addressing grievances.
• Manages Election Logistics:  Organizes the deployment of Electoral commissioners and the security forces to maintain law and order on election day.
• Voter list Preparation - Creates a list of eligible voters and ensures that everyone gets to vote in the country.
• No discrimination- Ensures that there is no discrimination of caste, color, gender, geographic location during voting.

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Importance of CEC in Electoral Governance

The CEC is important in the electoral process and in upholding the country’s pillars of democracy. The importance of CEC is mentioned below:

• Effective management of the Electoral Commission of India.
• Management and Monitoring of Election Commissioners.
• Elections at all levels- Central, State, and local levels are held under the direction of ECI and CEC.
• If any candidate or party does not uphold the legal framework of election and democracy, the CEC might revoke their recognition for elections.
• CEC maintains the integrity of elections by maintaining transparency and fairness without biases in elections.

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The Appointment and Tenure Of CEC

• The CEC is appointed by the President of India. 
• Traditionally, the senior-most Election Commissioner is appointed as the CEC.
• The tenure of CEC is up to six years or  65 years of age, whichever comes first.
• The CEC  heads the ECI and enjoys the same status as the Judges of the Supreme Court of India.