INDEPENDENT REVIEW CALLS FOR NEW KAWEHNOKE BY-ELECTION
Nominations will be held in advance of March 6th
By-Election
Enniska / February 1, 2010AKWESASNE MOHAWK TERRITORY— The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne’s Executive Director has announced that a decision has been rendered by Kahnawake Mohawk Justices regarding the November 7th By-Election for Kawehnoke. Pursuant to the Akwesasne Election Law 2005/2006-192, the Mohawk Justices have called for a new By-Election for the District of Kawehnoke.
On June 27, 2009, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne held a General Election, which resulted in several appeals that went to a hearing before the Akwesasne Election Appeal Board. The decision of the Election Appeal Board was further appealed to the Akwesasne Mohawk Court, as set out in Section 14 of the Appeal Procedure.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Court ordered that a By-Election for the District of Kawehnoke be held on November 7, 2009. The October 6th decision by the Akwesasne Mohawk Court ruled that only those candidates whose names appeared on the June 27th ballot would be allowed to run in the By-Election. As a result, the November 7th By-Election was appealed by four community members for differing reasons, with two of them having merit.
On November 24th, the Akwesasne Election Appeal Board heard the appeals concerning the November 7th By-Election, as set out by the Akwesasne Election Law. Based on the evidence provided at the hearing, the Akwesasne Election Appeal Board rendered a decision to hold a By-Election due to there being no nomination process.
The Executive Director asked for an Independent Review of the October 6th Court’s decision. Based on this determination, the matter was forwarded to two independent Justices of the Peace for Kahnawake.
The resulting Independent Review agreed with Justice Shannon Hall’s October 6th decision stating that a By-Election was needed for the District of Kawehnoke. However, the Independent Review also agreed with the Akwesasne Election Appeal Board’s November 24th finding that new nominations for District Chiefs should have occurred. As a result, nominations will be held in advance of a new By-Election.
Nominations for Kawehnoke District Chiefs will be held on February 13th, from 9am to 1pm, at the Kawehnoke Recreation Center. In accordance with the Akwesasne Election Law, public notice is being provided no less than thirty days before a By-Election, which is scheduled for March 6th.
To be eligible for nomination, candidates must reside in the District of Kawehnoke, must have attained the age of eighteen (18) years; have resided in the territory of Akwesasne for one (1) year immediately preceding the date of the By-Election; be a registered member of the Mohawks of Akwesasne; be an Onkwehonwe; be nominated for that position by at least two (2) persons eligible to vote for that person; and not be a Chief Electoral Officer, Deputy Electoral Officer, Uniformed Security Personnel, or Appointed Observer as contemplated in the Election Law.
For a complete listing of eligibility criteria, please see the Public Notice in this week’s edition of Indian Time. Individuals can also obtain a copy of the Akwesasne Election Law from the Akwesasne Justice Department.
