Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

MONFWI ELECTORAL DISTRICT
Elections NWT has opened an investigation looking into complaints coming out of the district about possible violations to the Elections Act during the Oct. 3 election.

In a media advisory issued Oct. 11, chief electoral officer David Brock acknowledged that "several independent complaints have been received and are now being investigated" in the Monfwi electoral district.

Election results for the Monfwi district saw incumbent Jackson Lafferty defeat rival Bertha Rabesca Zoe by 139 votes. Monfwi had the highest voter turnout of the NWT, with 86.6 per cent of eligible voters casting a ballot.

At this time, Brock is declining to offer information regarding the nature of the complaints or which sections of the Act are alleged to have been violated until the investigation is complete.

"As of now we haven't been told the specifics," said Behchoko Chief Clifford Daniels. "All I know is there's complaints. I'm pretty sure the individuals that are putting these complaints forward are dealing with it."

NWT elections complaints were also investigated after the 2007 territorial election.

At the time, News/North reported that a fax defaming incumbent Jackson Lafferty was sent around on election day by a Diavik Mine employee, though Lafferty still edged out then-opponent Henry Zoe by 86 votes.

Daniels said there were rumours that some Monfwi electors were turned away on election day, though he couldn't say if any part of the Elections Act had been violated or if some voters had simply shown up at the wrong polling stations to vote.

"We've been kind of neutral in this whole thing too so, that's the thing," he said. "That's why they're not bringing (the complaints) to us."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.