Tsiigehtchic to recount election ballots

The band council in Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., has agreed to recount the ballots in its recent election for chief, after the losing candidate threatened court action if a recount or a new election does not take place.

In a letter, the band council stated that a territorial government representative will be present for the recount.

Tsiigehtchic is a Gwich'in community of about 200 located at the junction of the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Red River, about 100 kilometres south of Inuvik.

Russell Andre lost the June 18 election in a tiebreaker, after the two candidates received 27 votes each. Fredrick (Sonny) Blake was declared winner after his name was drawn from a ballot box.

Andre, who appealed the results two days later, said election staff wrongly disallowed a ballot that would have made him the winner. Andre also claimed that proxy votes were allowed for other candidates, but not for him.

"If I don't like the [recount] decision that they come out with, then I will take it to court because of all the grounds that I pointed out in my first initial letter — that beneficiaries and members weren't given the opportunity to vote," Andre told CBC News on Wednesday.

"I mean, it wasn't a fair and honest vote. It was biased and discriminate."

Andre said he understands the recount will take place sometime next week.

Since the election in Tsiigehtchic was a custom election —an election governed by traditionalrules —neither the federal nor N.W.T. governments have authority over it. Government officials say Andre's only recourse is through the band council or the courts.

Chief Bill Erasmus, the N.W.T.'s regionalchief at the Assembly of First Nations, said earlier this week that he hopes Andre and the band can find a solution on their own.

"You need to resolve the issue quickly," Erasmus said. "Otherwise, people end up in the courts and you're spending the public's money, and you are taking time and effort to resolve this, and it gets fairly messy. And there's a lasting impact on a community that's not a positive one."