INUVIK - Richard Nerysoo and Mary Ann Ross now sit at the helm of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, following the election earlier this week.

The polls opened at 9 a.m. on Monday morning in the four communities of Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic.

Amy Neyando, left, and Mishelle Furlong worked the ballot station in Inuvik for the Gwich'in Tribal Council election earlier this week. Richard Nerysoo is the new president and Mary Ann Ross is back as vice-president. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

By 8 p.m. all the ballots were in and the counting began.

"We were done around 10:30," said Chief Returning Officer Barb Crawford.

"I made my calls and informed the winners about the results."

There was also an advance poll on June 9.

Crawford said the general consensus was that the election was handled well, with many hands helping at polling stations.

"I was at headquarters and had people calling me all day," she said.

"I think it all ran fairly smoothly."

Richard Nerysoo took the presidency after former leader Fred Carmichael announced he would not seek re-election.

Nerysoo had an unofficial count of 317 votes, with the second runner-up being Norman Snowshoe, who had 294.

Mary Ann Ross beat challenger Lawrence Norbert for the vice presidency with a vote count of 698 to 329.

The day after the election, Ross said she was happy with the results and congratulated Norbert on a strong campaign.

"We were supportive of each other," she said.

"He ran a good solid campaign."

Ross said she is glad to be done with the campaigning and is happy to be back at work.

"It was a busy week of visiting people and running around," she said.

"I'm back in the office and surrounded by paperwork already."

Ross said she was at home talking with her daughter when the phone rang late Monday night.

"We were discussing some things and I got the call from Barb," recalled Ross.

"She said 'congratulations, vice president.'"

Ross is eager to return to the planning tables and discuss ideas that are in motion.

Ross said she would like to see the youth panel expand its realm this term as well.

The youth panel is an initiative started by the council in which a youth group is formed to identify programming needs in the community.

Nerysoo was at home with his family when he got a call from a cousin in Fort McPherson announcing the results.

"I got the call, and was told I had won, but I didn't hear it officially, so it was an interesting situation," he said.

"I've been through elections before, won and lost, and it's always a feeling of uncertainty on the night of the poll."

Nerysoo said he is happy to be where he is and wants to let the people in the Gwich'in settlement region know he is ready to work with other community groups to make this term a strong one.

"When you win an election, it's not about breaking the existing system, but making it stronger," he said.

"I'm looking forward to these four years."

Some criticized Nerysoo for missing the public forum at Ingamo Hall last week.

Nerysoo said he was attending a community feast in Fort McPherson that he was hosting and couldn't be in two places at once.

"We left as early as we could, but we were at the mercy of the ferries," he said.

Nerysoo said he will spend the rest of the week settling in and transferring from his office in the Inuvik Native Band building.

Former Gwich'in Tribal Council president Fred Carmichael declined to comment on his tenure in the office, and said he would rather speak at a later date so as not to conflict with the post-election transition.