Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat will take charge as the next Chief Election Commissioner from Tuesday. The Ministry of Law and Justice confirmed his appointment on Sunday.
Rawat will replace Achal Kumar Joti, who has been in charge since July 2017 and retires on Monday.
He was an officer of the 1977 batch of the Indian Administrative Services from Madhya Pradesh.
Former Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa was appointed Election Commissioner to replace Rawat from Tuesday, the ministry said.
According to the Constitution, the Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner can have a tenure of six years or hold office till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Rawat is expected to be in charge till December 2018, and will lead the poll panel during Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh among others.
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