Yellowknife (Dec 08/03) - The agent for North Slave candidate Nora Doig has filed a complaint about mistreatment of their campaign team during the territorial election.

"We were verbally abused," Doig told News/North.

"They were meant to discourage us right from the beginning."

Doig said she expected the abuse from community members who don't want women in positions of power, but it had the opposite effect.

"It empowered me more," she said.

"I took a lot of the abuse and what basically happened is I opened the door for other women to run in the future."

Doig said that phone calls were also made to her home by a person who told her she should withdraw from the election campaign.

"We would hear things like 'You girls just don't have a chance,'" Doig said.

Doig's is one of three complaints about the election being investigated by Chief Electoral Officer David Hamilton.

Hamilton has six months to report his findings on the incidents to the territorial legislative assembly.

In the 1999 territorial election 13 complaints were filed concerning bribes, early postings of election signs, ineligible candidates and abusive statements about a candidate's character or conduct.