With a year and a half to go before the next municipal election, Fort Simpson Village Council has a decision to make tonight on what it's going to do with a recently vacated seat.

Last month, Mike Rowe resigned from his position as councillor. Village council alleges he violated the NWT Conflict of Interest Act.

At the April 27 regular council meeting, councillors defeated a motion that would see a byelection held.

Council is now expected to make a final decision on the matter at tonight's (May 4) council meeting.

Mayor Sean Whelly said while it's technically possible for a byelection to still be held, this would require revisiting a defeated motion, which is unlikely. It seems more likely that council will decide to appoint the next person down the candidate list, he said.

Mike Drake, regional superintendent for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, said Fort Simpson is the only municipality in the NWT needing to fill a seat. He reviewed the options council has based on the Local Authorities Elections Act and noted the village can leave the seat vacant until the next municipal election in October 2021, appoint any eligible voter in Fort Simpson to the position or hold a byelection.

Of those three recommendations, Drake suggested the best option would be to hold a byelection in two to three months, but he pointed out that social distancing measures could make the logistics very challenging. Ultimately, the decision is up to the municipal council, however.

Some councillors were in favour of simply appointing the next candidate down the list from the 2018 municipal election. According to the results of the last election, that person would be Randal Sibbeston, who had 199 votes.

Drake said appointing people to a vacant position has received complaints in the past as being undemocratic.