RADILIH KOE/FORT GOOD HOPE - Some Fort Good Hope residents are calling for electoral reform after their chief was chosen by ballot draw.

The top two of seven candidates for chief of Fort Good Hope, Arthur Tobac and Ronald Pierrot, each received 64 votes in the election on July 20. To break the tie, the returning officer put ballots with each of their names in a box and picked one, in accordance with rules in the Local Authorities Elections Act. Tobac was chosen as chief. His opponent and first cousin, Pierrot, asked for a recount, which confirmed the tie. There was one spoiled ballot in addition to the counted votes.

The community council discussed the issue at a meeting on July 28 and decided to accept Tobac as chief, but some community members - including Pierrot - are unhappy about how the tie was broken.

Pierrot, who is consulting lawyers about changing the election rules, said community members should have been asked for further input before the winning ballot was drawn.

"The people have the right to talk and be heard," Pierrot said. "That's my concern. If they call a re-election just for the chief candidate, then so be it. If not, if they decide 'well, you know, we agree with the way that it went,' then so be it."

He said the council meeting to discuss the election results was poorly advertised and not many members of the public attended.

"Nobody's giving them information. They're kind of sitting at kitchen tables and tapping their fingers and wondering what's going on," Pierrot said.

"They've got to be treated fairly and a lot of them feel that, you know, we don't know who's chief. I mean, two people were elected (with) the same votes and this thing around drawing from a hat, it's a joke."

Local resident George Grandjambe said he is neutral about which of the two candidates was ultimately chosen as chief, but he said he feels the majority of the community is unsatisfied with the tiebreaker rule set out in the Act.

"If that's the procedure they were going to use - you know, to select a name out of a box - then the community itself should be consulted because this is an important position. It's not a position where you're drawing for a prize. This is our community government we're talking about," Grandjambe said. "I don't care how you look at it or how the government perceives it to be; I don't think that's right."

"If it means having a re-election for all the set names that were on the ballots, then let's do it; let's do it right."

Tobac was sworn in as chief shortly after the election for a two-year term. Calls to his office and his home were not returned before deadline.

The ballot draw tiebreaker has been used in other communities to decide an election.

Just two years ago in Tsiigehtchic, chief Frederick "Sonny" Blake was elected by draw after he and his opponent received the same number of votes, minus one spoiled ballot.