Photo courtesy of fonddulac.ca
According to a band consultant, Louie Mercredi will remain Chief of Fond du Lac First Nation for the next three years.
The band held an emergency meeting on Monday night to discuss the matter.
Mercredi was elected as chief at a general band election last month.
However, last week an appeals tribunal called for a by-election for the position, citing alleged violations of the local election act. In a fax obtained by MBC, the tribunal later informed the chief electoral officer they were reversing that original decision.
The tribunal said they did not have enough time to properly assess the situation before making the decision to call for a by-election. The fax says some members of the appeals board did not receive any information on the situation prior to the decision, therefore, the decision was reversed.
According to Don Deranger, band consultant and governance advisor, members were asked to vote to approve the reversed decision at Monday’s emergency meeting.
He says of the 50 people at the meeting, 48 voted to uphold the original election results and keep Louie Mercredi as Chief.
The appeals tribunal also put forward several recommendations for the band’s next election. They include better training for elector officers, assistants and appeals board members for the local election act. They also say board members should have in-house discussions as a group to review any manner that may arise.
As of now, there are no appeals before the tribunal on the Fond du Lac Election.