Recount requested in Sanirajak mayor’s race
Meanwhile, tie in Kinngait alcohol education committee race was decided by draw Tuesday
Sanirajak’s flag flies outside Nunavut’s legislative assembly in this file photo. A 57-57 tie in the hamlet’s mayoral race on Monday could be settled by a draw, the territory’s chief electoral officer says. (File photo)
Updated October 24 at 6:10 p.m.
The mayor’s job in Sanirajak could be settled by a draw after the top two candidates finished in a tie in Monday’s election.
Ammie H. Kipsigak and Philip Anguratsiaq each received 57 votes in the four-way race for mayor of the Qikiqtaaluk region hamlet with a population of about 900.
According to the Elections Nunavut website, a justice of the peace recount has been requested in order to determine the result of the race. The website did not indicate when that would take place.
The Nunavut Elections Act allows two options for breaking a tie, the territory’s chief electoral officer Dustin Fredlund said in an email.
Candidates can agree to settle the outcome by a draw or they can ask for a justice of the peace to do a recount. If there’s still a tie after that recount, it’s settled by a draw and those results are final, Fredlund said.
Residents in Sanirajak cast 171 votes for mayor in Monday’s election. Voter turnout was 43.2 per cent, according to Elections Nunavut’s website.
Jason Kaernerk finished in third place with 33 votes, while fourth place’s David Curley had 24.
Meanwhile, in Kinngait a tie for seventh-place on the hamlet’s seven-member alcohol education committee was settled Tuesday, according to the Elections Nunavut website.
It reported that a draw was held and Pudloo Qiatsik was declared the winner over the other seventh-place finisher, Dana Pootoogook.
And in Cambridge Bay, an administrative recount was underway Tuesday to settle the eighth spot on the eight-member council.
A recount is required when four votes or less separates two candidates. Unofficial results show Dana Langille finished in eighth place with 232 votes compared to William Palvialok’s ninth-place finish with 228 votes.
That recount was expected to take a few hours and the outcome could be determined on Tuesday afternoon, Fredlund said. Results were not available as of 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Note: This article was corrected to note Sanirajak is in the Qikiqtaaluk region
And this is why we need something like ranked ballots!
oh each of them should have a talk with all their family and friends… i bet one there family or friends was to lazy to go vote. Could have made a difference.