Acho Dene Koe First Nation election for chief postponed again
CBC
The upcoming election for chief of Acho Dene Koe First Nation has been postponed once again.
In an affidavit signed March 28, councillor and sub-chief Brenda Berreault said the First Nation does not have an elections officer.
Berreault previously told the courts that it had an election date set for May 18.
At that time, Killick Leadership Group was being retained to serve as Acho Dene Koe's electoral officer.
The group officially withdrew its proposal Jan. 13, because it couldn't reach an agreement with Acho Dene Koe on the contract fee.
Although Berreault and Acho Dene Koe band manager Boyd Clark reached out to other potential election officers, they ultimately decided to advertise the position.
The Acho Dene Koe council scheduled a meeting yesterday to review those applications. No updated election date was given.
This is not the first time Acho Dene Koe has postponed its election. In 2020, Floyd Bertrand took the First Nation to federal court and won after it postponed an election due to COVID-19.
Bertrand also sought a judicial review in November based on an appeal decision made last year. At that time, Garth Wallbridge, who acted as the appeal committee, called the 2021 election process "seriously flawed" and found Acho Dene Koe should hold a new election "with all due haste."
"That's why we're in federal court the way we are, because of all these stalling tactics," said Bertrand. "There's more than [enough] qualified elections officers in the community that can do the job but they don't want to hire them."
Bertrand is hoping the judicial review will force the band to finally hold an election, saying the community is supporting him as they also want a new election for chief.
"If it was just me, I'd give up, but they keep telling me to fight. There's no one else fighting for what's right."
Acho Dene Koe has not had a successful election for chief since 2017.
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