Akwesasne election results set aside after appeal board ruling

UPDATE | On July 26, a council spokesperson said the decision to set aside results would not be appealed and the process to update the voter list and set a new election date would move forward.

Residents of Akwesasne may have to vote again in anothergeneral election.

After reviewing 14 appeals that were found to have merit, a local appeal boardhas chosen to set aside the results of last month's general election for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA).

But thedecision by the Akwesasne Election Appeal Board (AEAB)could itself be overturned, if it is appealed within five days.

The MCA is the elected body for the Canadian portion of Akwesasne, which is located about 120 kilometres southeast of Ottawa and straddles the Ontario-Quebec border. It represents about 12,000 people.

Its general election happens every three years, with voters electingone grand chief and four district chiefs from each of the territory's three districts.

According to the unofficial results of last month'selection,former district chief Edward Roundpointwas elected asgrand chief by 30 votes.

Roundpoint told CBC at the time he was not engaging with the community or the media until the results were official.

Why were the results set aside?

The grand chief position opened up when Abram Benedict, who'd led the community for nine years, stepped down to focus on his new position asregional chief for the Chiefs of Ontario.

The appeal hearingswere public and discussed a "range of subjects" that mainly involved "voters'list issues and election process issues," an MCA spokesperson wrote in an email to CBC.

For all 14 appeals, the AEAB citedSection 14(6) of Akwesasne Election Law, which states the board may set aside the election if it finds there was a "a violation of [the law] that in all likelihood affected the results of the election" or "corrupt or fradulent practice in relation to the election."

In eight appeals, it also cited sections that pertain to adding individuals to the voter lists and their eligibility to vote.

For one appeal, the board cited a section stating that no one shall interfere with a voter's ability to vote or learn how they have voted.

The board's response to an appeal to overturn the election results in whole, meanwhile, cited several other sections of the law, including ones that:

• Pertain to thenomination of candidates.
• Pertain to the handling of ballots by the chief electoral officer and chief administrative officer.
• Statethe chiefelectoral officer should not add or delete names from the voters list within 48 hours of the election, and that the voters list should be available to all candidates.

Court decision will be final

If the AEAB's decision to set aside the election results stands,Akwesasne residents will have to vote for a new grand chief and all 12 district chiefs.

However, if it'sappealed within five days, the situationwill be turned over the the Akwesasne Mohawk Court. The court's decision would be final.

The MCA spokesperson said the last successful appeal of an electionwas in 2009, when a singledistrict had to have a new byelection.