Former Indian Administrative Services Officer Sunil Arora took charge as Chief Election Commissioner on Sunday, ANI reported. Arora will oversee the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, and Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Odisha, Haryana, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh slated for next year.

Arora took over from OP Rawat whose term ended on Saturday. “All of us in the commission will put best foot forward to meet the expectations of all the stakeholders under the purview of Constitution of India,” NDTV quoted Arora as saying.

The 62-year-old said internal preparations for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls had already started. “We will ensure voting rights for our soldiers and persons with disability. We will give the country a fair, free, credible, impartial and ethical elections,” Arora said.

Arora is a retired 1980-batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre. He has had stints in the ministries of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Civil Aviation Ministry and the Indian Airlines.

The Constitution stipulates that the chief election commissioner or an election commissioner have a tenure of six years or hold office till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.