Candidate Archibald takes the lead for first time in election for national chief, but falls short of a win

Thursday, July 8th, 2021 3:56pm
RoseAnne Archibald gains the lead in the election for national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, but falls short of the 60 per cent threshold to win in the fourth voting round.
Chiefs and proxies have from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST to vote. Results will be announced at 6:15 p.m. EST.
By Shari Narine
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com

RoseAnne Archibald is a step closer to becoming the first woman national chief for the Assembly of First Nations, but it will take at least one more ballot.

With fourth ballot results revealed, former Ontario regional chief Archibald took the lead for the first time over the only other contender left in the race, former Muskowekwan First Nation Chief Reginald Bellerose of Saskatchewan.

In the previous three ballots, Bellerose had slim leads each time.

The fourth ballot had Archibald collecting 206 votes (or nearly 51 per cent) and Bellerose with 176 votes (43 per cent). For the winner to be declared she or he must have 60 per cent of the vote of registered electors.

As the third ballot concluded, Alvin Fiddler, who was third, pulled out of the race and endorsed Archibald.

The results of the third ballot saw candidate Jodi Calahoo-Stonehouse dropped as she had received the least amount of votes and she also put her support behind Archibald.

In total, 383 chiefs and proxies voted, which was the highest number of the four ballots. With 406 registered voters, the winning candidate must get 244 votes.

Chiefs and proxies have from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST to vote. Results will be announced at 6:15 p.m. EST.