Recount confirms election of Sioux Valley councillors
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A recount has upheld the results of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation’s election of five council members in November.
Election officer Burke Ratte live-streamed the recount Wednesday under an agreement with Chief Jennifer Bone and former chief Vince Tacan.
The results confirmed the election of councillors Jonathan Bell, Darryl Hapa, Melissa Hotain, Bill McKay and Randell Wasicuna. The agreement stipulated that the chief’s position would not be affected by the recount.
A recount has confirmed five Sioux Valley Dakota Nation councillors who were elected in November. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
“I’m confident that these are accurate results,” Ratte said after the recount.
The recount resolved a dispute that arose after the Nov. 13 election. Tacan filed a legal challenge contesting the results after a group of community members took possession of sealed ballot boxes and counted them on a livestream without Ratte present. Ratte also wrote a report to Indigenous Services Canada calling the election nullified.
Ratte said Wednesday he plans to amend his report to Indigenous Services Canada and sign off in support of the election now that he has conducted the recount.
He told the Sun that he was certain the ballots had not been tampered with.
Going into the recount, he was focused on ensuring the integrity of the votes, as he lost possession of the ballots for roughly two months. Ratte cited several security features on the ballots that he said identified them as original, and that could not be reproduced.
» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com