Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services

Fort Norman (Jan 21/02) - A Tulita man is trying to overturn recent band corporation elections, charging winning candidates used illegal votes to win.

Edward MacCauly, a former vice-president of the Tulita Land Corporation and the Tulita Financial Corporation, said in an affidavit dated Nov. 27 that the current board of directors was elected with invalid proxy votes last October.

"During the voting process I notice and was concerned ... by what appeared to be a large number of proxies taken from children and used to cast votes on behalf of those children," said the affidavit.

No statement of defence has been filed by the corporations.

MacCauly, acclaimed to the vice-presidency of both corporations in the fall of 1999, said resolutions passed by both corporations set the age limit at 19 for voting eligibility.

MacCauly's statement of origin, filed on Dec. 20, states, "As a consequence, it is likely that the outcome of the election was determined by the voting of persons who were ineligible to vote, and the improper use of proxies."

MacCauly ran for president of both corporations but lost in the most recent elections.

MacCauly's lawyer, Garth Wallbridge, would not comment on the case.

Representatives from both corporations could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Both parties met once in court this month but no date has been set for the next appearance.