Cindy Woodhouse, AFN regional chief for Manitoba, collected 35.1 per cent of the vote on the first ballot. Photo: Supplied
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is headed into a second round of voting to choose a new national chief.
The results of the first ballot, announced Wednesday shortly after 3:30 p.m. ET, did not put any of the six candidates over the 60 per cent threshold to win.
Cindy Woodhouse, the current regional chief for Manitoba, is leading her closest challenger, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations vice-chief David Pratt.
The two lowest-ranking candidates, Reginald Bellerose and Craig Makinaw, have been dropped from the second ballot.
The election comes months after former national chief RoseAnne Archibald was ousted over the findings of an investigation into complaints from five staff members about her conduct.
Final plea
The candidates made their final plea to the assembly Tuesday in an all-candidates forum where they outlined why they were best suited to lead the organization, which represents some 600 chiefs across the country.
The election comes months after former national chief RoseAnne Archibald was ousted over the findings of an investigation into complaints from five staff members about her conduct.
The third-party independent review concluded some of Archibald’s behaviour amounted to harassment, and that she had breached confidentiality rules and violated internal policies by retaliating against complainants.
Archibald denied the allegations. Her supporters maintain she was removed from the post for trying to change the organization’s status quo.
Of the 231 chiefs who took part in the special assembly, 71 per cent voted to remove her.
Replace Archibald
Six candidates put their names forward to replace Archibald and interim national chief Joanna Bernard, including Bellerose, Makinaw, Woodhouse and Pratt, as well as Sheila North and Dean Sayers.
Woodhouse, the assembly’s current regional chief for Manitoba, collected 35.1 per cent of the vote on the first ballot, compared with 25.6 per cent for Pratt, her next closest challenger.
According to the assembly’s election procedures, each member nation has one vote, which can be cast either by the chief or by a registered proxy on Wednesday. The winner must receive more than 60 per cent of the vote.
Shortly after the final results are announced, the newly elected national chief is expected to take part in an oath of office ceremony.
