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NWT communities more engaged in election than Yellowknife Laura Busch Northern News Services Published Monday, October 10, 2011
The main brow-raiser was not provided by the candidates, but by the electorate, who stayed home in droves on Oct. 3. In total throughout the NWT, just 11,787 votes were cast out of the 24,577 names on the elector list. That equals a dismal 48 per cent turnout, which compared with 2007's turnout of 67 per cent, raises questions about why voters seem so apathetic this time around. Unfortunately, Elections NWT was unavailable to comment on this low voter turnout as of press time, so speculation on what exactly went wrong goes unanswered for now. However, voter turnout in the non-Yellowknife portion of the NWT was decidedly better than that in the urban centre. Of the six contested ridings in Yellowknife, just 34.2 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot, while in the 10 races which took place in the rest of the territory, 60.6 per cent of voters came out. That is, however, still lower than the average turnout from the last election. Districts in the Beaufort-Delta region saw some of the closest races and the highest voter turnout of the election. Monfwi Monfwi had the best voter turnout of any district in this election, with nearly 87 per cent of eligible voters casting a ballot. Incumbent Jackson Lafferty beat out challenger Bertha Rabesca Zoe by 10 per cent of the vote, or 139 ballots. Monfwi was predicted to be one of the most interesting and heavily contested races going into the election, with the experienced Lafferty - who served as minister of Education, Culture and Employment during the 16th legislative assembly and as chair of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight during the 15th assembly - facing off against lawyer Bertha Rabesca Zoe, who is from a prominent Tlicho family. "Basically, we place our trust in the people for today, and they'll decide who is going to represent them," Zoe said from her home in Behchoko on election night, where about 150 family, friends and supporters were gathered to watch the results come in. Unfortunately, Lafferty was unavailable to comment on his victory as of press time, but will be back in his role at the legislature for Tuesday's orientation. Mackenzie Delta The race in Mackenzie Delta was civil, according to the candidates. "(The campaign) has been good. There's been no mud slinging; everybody has been very civil," said Taig Connell from his home in Fort McPherson on election night where he was watching the results with his family. "I'm in good company for sure. So it should be interesting." The race was one of the closest of the election, with Frederick Blake Jr. winning with a total of 190 votes. Connell came in second place with 150 votes, Eugene Pascal had 127 votes, Mary Clark received 89 ballots and Glenna Hansen rounded out the pack with 66. Aklavik and Tsiigehtchic were key communities in Blake's victory over Connell. In Aklavik, Blake received 44 votes to Connell's 18 and Blake swept his hometown of Tsiigehtchic with 37 votes to Connell's four. In Fort McPherson, Connell received 90 votes to Blake's 64 on election night voting, and in advanced polling within the community, the pair were tied with 30 votes apiece. "I wasn't overconfident, but I knew I had a pretty good chance," said Blake. "I just got out of leadership so people already knew what I have to offer at the table." Blake served as chief of Tsiigehtchic for two terms, ending in June. "I really want to get back to the communities right away to figure out some of our priorities to be brought forward," said Blake. "But healthcare and housing are the two major issues right now." Blake spent the election night in Fort McPherson with his election team and friends to watch the results. Because the race was within 40 votes, they were in for a long wait. "I'm really glad to have the trust of the people and to bring all the issues forward and to do our best to make the changes," he said. Nunakput The district of Nunakput chose to re-elect longtime MLA Jackie Jacobson over Eddie Dillon by a vote of 312 to 199. Jacobson spent time in hospital in Edmonton for more than three and a half weeks during the legislative assembly's Wildlife Act tour last term with double pneumonia and strep throat and ended up having water in his heart sack. "That was a scary time," he told News/North, though now he is feeling healthy and working to stay that way. Though he missed more days in the last assembly than any other MLA, Jacobson is confident in his performance and said he is ready to serve again. "If you look at all what I've done in the last four years, I'm not in first place for spending, but I think I'm in second or third in spending in the NWT in my riding," he said. "So I've done a lot of good things, myself being sick or not." Sahtu Following the trend of keeping incumbents in place for the coming term, 60 per cent of voters in the Sahtu district chose to re-elect Norman Yakeleya to represent them in the 17th assembly. "I'd like to thank the people for coming out to vote," said Yakeleya from Tulita on election night. "The Sahtu has some big issues that need to be addressed in the near future, and I've heard them, and I've listened to them, and it's time to go to work again for the next four years." After receiving the news that he had won, Yakeleya turned his attention to how he would expand his presence in the legislative assembly. "My plans moving forward would be to get back to Yellowknife, raise the issues that the Sahtu want me to raise in the 17th and I'd like to put my name in for the cabinet," he said. "A couple of people asked me if I would consider making a bid for the premiership." He said he was indeed seriously considering running for premier, though he plans to take a few days to speak with his family and his constituents before making a decision. In Hay River North, Robert Bouchard said he is very happy to get the opportunity to represent Hay River in Yellowknife. Bouchard said he was not sure what to expect on election night based on the campaign. "Some days you thought you were ahead, some days you thought you were behind," he said. "So we were just pleased that we won." The other candidates in the district were Roy Courtoreille and Beatrice Lepine. There was no incumbent in the race in Hay River North as long-time MLA Paul Delorey did not to seek re-election. Bouchard, 42, said one of the biggest issues will be working to represent Hay River as part of a team, which includes Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen, the Town of Hay River, and various organizations in the community. The 42-year-old rookie MLA said he is looking forward to working with Groenewegen, who has 16 years of experience as an MLA. Bouchard, who served for 11 years as a Hay River town councillor, said he has no thoughts of running for cabinet in his first term as MLA. "I'll try to learn the ropes up there and try to understand the process of how things get accomplished," he said. - with files from Paul Bickford. Fact file Voter turnout
Total voter turnout: 48% Voter turnout outside
Unofficial poll results: (rounded to nearest tenth of a per cent, fives rounded down) - Source: Elections NWT Elect your premier There has been a lot of discussion about a territory-wide election for premier. Many recently elected MLAs agree with the status quo, but some are open to publicly electing a premier and doing away with the secret ballot process. This week News/North is inviting voters to tell the MLAs who they want as the NWT's premier. To vote, visit our ELECTIONS WEBSITE, our NNSL Facebook page, or send us a tweet at @nnslonline.
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