Municipal elections a cause for concern

Every year, we vote on Dec. 12 for our municipal governments.

The elections are very serious for the communities, but some communities have problems.

I have two main concerns with people voting when they live down south. Once they’ve lived in Nunavut for a year or more, it’s OK for them to do that according to the policies.

It’s seasonal workers that are allowed to go to hospitals and are given driver’s licenses, and allowed to vote. Are these same people allowed to vote within their own communities on top of voting in Nunavut communities? Why is this so?

The other concern is that elections officers should not be allowed to vote. They should vote for their local government and for their mayors. They only vote to break ties if there is a tie. Other communities electing mayors use a coin-toss, and whoever calls it and gets it, wins.

Once the votes are counted and elections have closed, can the elections officer vote too? If there was a tie, that is? When there’s a mayorship election?

I’m sure I’m not the only one with concerns regarding elections. It’s hard to know who to ask and exactly who is going to answer these concerns. It’s important that there be clear policies and that they should be easy to understand. It should be set up properly.

Ludy Pudluk
Resolute Bay
Translated from Inuktitut