Gwich'in participants may soon be returning to the polls after the Gwich'in Tribal Council executive ignored findings of an elections committee report and is recommending a new election be called at the earliest opportunity.
Documents were published to the Gwich'in Tribal Council's social media shortly after 1 p.m. on Sept. 3. The documents include minutes from a series of emergency meetings held Aug. and , the elections committee and the GTC board of directors' reason for .
The next meeting of the GTC executive is scheduled for Oct. 3.
Gwich'in voters have been left looking for answers after incumbent Grand Chief Ken Kyikavichik announced he was appealing the election results, saying there were false allegations made that influenced the vote. NNSL Media reached out to Kyikavichik for further details, but he refused an interview, saying NNSL was not following protocol.
In the documents, the nature of Kyikavichik's complaint is explained. He alleges the timing of a filing of a lawsuit by the Gwichya Gwich'in Council with the NWT Supreme Court was meant to influence voters, that the conduct of some voters on social media was intended to discredit him, that houses in Fort McPherson had Frederick Blake Jr. signs put on their lawn without permission and that Frederick Blake Jr. exceeded the allowed amount of campaign spending.
The elections committee report concluded the allegations were unfounded, saying it was unable to find sufficient evidence to support the claims and stated the nature of the complaint should not affect the decision made by voters.
"The decision rendered by Gwich'in voters on election day is not a decision that is subject to appeal," reads the report, signed and dated by chief returning officer Arlene Hansen. "The democratic choice of the electorate should not be disturbed unless there is evidence of election violations that are sufficiently serious to disqualify a candidate or require a re-election. The recommendation of the elections committee is that the complaint be dismissed."
However, the GTC board of directors has not dismissed the complaint, instead concluding the allegations are completely founded. It notes the announcement of the Gwichya Gwich'in Council lawsuit came a mere three days before nominations closed and much of Blake Jr.'s campaign team are involved in the lawsuit. It argues the social media posts were both untrue and timed to influence voters exactly when electronic voting closed and that Blake did not submit all required receipts on time.
"The GTC board of directors finds that allegations 1, 2 and 4 are substantiated and for the reasons set out in this board decision document, the GTC board of directors finds that the above-noted violations are sufficient to call the results of the Aug. 19, 2024 election for grand chief of the GwichSA国际影视传媒檌n Tribal Council into question and therefore hereby calls a new election to be held as soon as possible," reads the decision.
A new election date has not been set.
NNSL media has reached out to Frederick Blake Jr. regarding whether he intends to run again or is prepared to take other action.
Blake won the Aug. 19 election with 604 votes compared to 515 votes for Kyikavichik.
