Nunavut Tunngavik postpones presidential election until February

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is pushing back its 2020 presidential election until February of next year due to the pandemic.

The territorial Inuit organization's acting president James Eetoolook made the announcement in a Friday night news release.

It said the election will be postponed from Dec. 14 until Feb. 8, 2021 and the campaign period suspended immediately, restarting on Jan. 4, 2021.

The announcement comes after NTI members approved a series of amendments to the Inuit organization's election rules on Friday, which allows the board of directors to postpone an election for public health emergencies.

The new rules also allow the board to reopen nominations, though no decision has been made to do so at this time.

NTI presidential elections are held on a fixed date every four years on the second Monday of December.

NTI said the recent, two week territory-wide lockdown, which ended this week, made it difficult to secure polling stations and hire staff.

"Even though elections have been held in other jurisdictions under similar COVID[-19]conditions, the small size and the close-knit nature of Nunavut communities as well as the over-crowded housing conditions have amplified the risks and stress in Nunavut," read the release from NTI.

"The NTI board of directors did not believe this would be the best time to ask Inuit in those communities to go out and vote in an election."

As of Friday, the territory had 51 active cases of COVID-19, with 44 of those in the hamlet of Arviat, which remains in lockdown.

QIA going ahead with its election

The decision to postpone the election stands in contrast to the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, one of three regional Inuit associations in Nunavut, which confirmed it's going ahead with its election on Dec.14 for vice-president, secretary-treasurer and five community director positions.

"At every voting site, we will have the necessary equipment such as masks, shields and hand sanitizer to ensure that staff are protected, and Inuit can vote safely," said Paul Okalik, QIA's chief returning officer, in a statement on Wednesday.

Advance polling in QIA's election is set for Dec. 7.