Chesterfield Inlet (Feb 01/06) - Students at Victor Sammurtok school in Chesterfield Inlet spent a good deal of time learning about Canada's electoral process this past month.

The studies led up to the federal election on Jan. 23.

Teacher Ana Leishman said the project was undertaken by senior students at the school.

She said the students were asked to complete an election-results assignment to predict the winners in each of the 308 ridings in Canada.

"The students were able to use resources such as online media references and riding histories to determine who would win each seat," said Leishman. "The student with the most seats became prime minister of the school for an afternoon."

In a race befitting a federal election, Wilson Tanuyak proved himself the school's political master by correctly predicting the outcome in 257 ridings.

Runner-up Tootoo Tanuyak correctly predicted 247 results.

The students also organized a mock election at the school.

School Spirit teams acted as polling stations, with each team member having to vote at their own station.

Students from Grade 1 to 12, as well as school staff, were asked to vote.

Results were tabulated by the senior students, including the number of votes, spoiled ballots and percentages.

While the students observed local polling procedures on election day, three actually registered to vote in the real election.

Leishman said the students learned a great deal from the project, including how seats in the House of Commons are divided up in Canada and why some provinces have more than others.

She said they also learned how debates and media attention can hurt or help candidates, and which parties and candidates are more popular in certain regions of the country.

"On the actual voting process, they learned about all the regulations that must be followed, including counting ballots, spoiled ballots and percentages of votes compared to actual seats won.

"They also gained an understanding of how the Opposition plays a vital role, especially in a minority government."