2006-batch IAS officer Ashok Kumar appointed Delhi chief electoral officer

The Election Commission of India appoints Ashok Kumar as Delhi's new chief electoral officer, overseeing voter registration and elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday appointed senior IAS officer Ashok Kumar as the new chief electoral officer (CEO) of Delhi.

File Photo (File Photo)

Kumar, 45, is a 2006-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh–Goa–Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre and succeeds R Alice Vaz who was transferred out of the national capital last month and had been asked to continue as Delhi CEO until a successor was appointed.

The notification issued on Monday said Kumar should take charge immediately and directed the Delhi government to send a compliance report within a week.

The ECI said Kumar should relinquish all other responsibilities under the Delhi government and will not be allowed to hold any additional charge, except to be named secretary to the government in charge of the election department in the state secretariat.

Kumar had earlier been serving as secretary in the general administration department of the Delhi government.

During his earlier stints in the Capital, he held several key positions, including secretary (education) and additional commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. He has also served in multiple administrative roles across AGMUT regions, with postings in Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.

Vaz, a 2005-batch AGMUT cadre officer, demitted office a 14-month tenure. She was appointed CEO on November 22, 2024. Prior to taking over as CEO, Vaz, 47, served as secretary (information) in the Delhi government, and, as the commissioner and secretary in the higher and technical education department before that. During her tenure as CEO, she held the rank of joint secretary in the election department.

As CEO, Kumar will oversee voter registration, electoral roll revisions and the conduct of elections in the national capital a role that places him at the heart of election administration in Delhi.

The appointment comes amid heightened focus on voter rolls and election processes across the country, with electoral revisions and procedural issues drawing public and judicial scrutiny. In Delhi, the CEO’s office plays a key role in implementing the ECI’s directions on voter inclusion, deletion and polling arrangements.