George Gordon First Nation. Photo courtesy of Manfred Joehnck.
It’s been smooth sailing so far in a court-ordered byelection on George Gordon First Nation that comes after two legal challenges over voting irregularities in the Punnichy-area reserve’s 2016 election.
The nomination period for chief and one council position has now passed, and the man who launched the initial court challenge over unaccounted ballots that could have changed the outcome of the election, Solomyn Cyr, will be on the ballot for council.
Cyr was successful in questioning the election results in his 2016 appeal to the Regina Court of Queen’s Bench and in the Court of Appeals, which ordered a byelection for chief.
Overturned chief Bryan McNabb Junior is running against Shawn Longman and John McNab, according to the nominee list. Last time around Longman lost by only a handful of votes.
There is also a byelection for one band council position. Cyr is running against Lyndon Oochoo, Daniel Cyr, Byron A Bitternose Jr. and Ash Vera (Bitternose)
The byelection takes place on September 13th, with Gordon Algers as Chief Electoral Officer. Algers told MBC that advance polls will take place on Sept. 4 in Saskatoon and September 6 in Regina.