Election Commissioner (EC) Achal Kumar Joti, a 1975-batch IAS officer who joined the three-member Commission as an Election Commissioner on May 8, 2015, will take over from the outgoing Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi who is set demit office on completion of tenure today (05 July 2017) Joti, 64, who was the Chief Secretary of Gujarat when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister and retired as CS in January 2013, will take over as the head of the Election Commission on July 6, a notification issued by the Law Ministry said. Zaidi will demit office on July 5. Joti will hold the office of CEC till January 17, 2018. A CEC or an EC can have a tenure of six years or hold office till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Joti, who will be the 21st CEC, has also served as the Gujarat Vigilance Commissioner and worked in various capacities in the State, including as the chairman of the Kandla Port Trust between 1999 and 2004 and the managing director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. (SSNNL). He was also the Secretary of the Industry, Revenue and Water Supply Departments of Gujarat. The government is expected to appoint Joti's replacement shortly.