Nunavut election goes into extra innings as vote count drags on into morning

As the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers battled deep into extra innings of Game 3 of the World Series, Nunavut’s election results were also still dragging on.

At 2 a.m. Tuesday, Elections Nunavut had reported complete results in 10 of the 20 constituencies where voting took place Monday. Partial results were available in five, while five others had no results at all. There were acclamations in two ridings — Hudson Bay, where Daniel Qavvik remains MLA and South Baffin, where David Joanasie kept his seat.

Just before 1 a.m., chief electoral officer Kiran Situt said there were no technical issues, but the vote count was “just taking time.”

“We are working on it. We are still counting,” Situt said.

In Aggu and Pangnirtung, Elections Nunavut’s website had not reported any results as of 2 a.m., more than seven hours after the polls closed.

Westward in the Kivalliq Region, where it was past midnight local time, there were zero polls reporting in Arviat South, a constituency where there was a two-way race between Jamie Kablutsiak and Alana Kuksuk to fill the vacancy created when longtime MLA Joe Savikataaq Sr. decided not to run again.

Just after 11 p.m. in the Kitikmeot Region, no polls were reporting results in Cambridge Bay and Gjoa Haven.

Poll reporting appeared to have started but was incomplete in Aivilik, Amittuq, Arviat North-Whale Cove, Netsilik, Quttiktuq and Rankin Inlet North-Chesterfield Inlet.

All polls closed at 7 p.m. locally.

As the evening dragged on, Elections Nunavut began listing results in some ridings.

Gwen Healey Akearok’s name was listed as the victor in Iqaluit-Manirajak well after 1 a.m., winning the seat held by Adam Arreak Lightstone since 2017. But while Elections Nunavut said all three polls had reported their results, there were zeroes in the column for one of two election day polls.

Akearok praised election workers for working late into the night.

“I’m sure all of our elections workers were working extremely hard to get the results in a timely manner, and I appreciate all of the volunteers and all who are working hard to do that tonight,” she said.

Both Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster and George Hickes said they were heading to bed after winning re-election in Iqaluit-Sinaa and Iqaluit-Tasiluk, respectively. In Brewster’s Iqaluit-Sinaa riding, the results gave her 175 votes compared to 150 for challenger Robin Anawak. But Elections Nunavut did not report results from one of the riding’s two election day polls.

Also in Iqaluit, David Akeeagok stayed up late as he claimed victory in Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu.

While welcoming a reporter into his house before midnight, he pondered whether power outages in Rankin Inlet, where Elections Nunavut is based, were to blame for the slow trickle of results.

“I’m not sure why [the website] was crashing and why it’s taken so long,” Akeeagok said about the Elections Nunavut site not loading at times.

Other polls had candidates appearing to be named as winners late into Tuesday morning, including Craig Simailak in Baker Lake, Simon Kuliktana in Kugluktuk, Annie Tattuinee in Rankin Inlet South, Brian Koonoo in Tuniniq and Gordon Kautuk in Uqqummiut.