The voting booths are open as members of the Okanagan Indian Band elect a new chief and council today.
The 2021 OKIB election is underway March 30 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Head of the Lake Hall. There are 33 candidates running for 10 council positions and six are in the running for band chief.
Byron Louis has served as OKIB chief since 2011. Five candidates are challenging his bid for a sixth two-year term: Reynold Bonneau, Valerie Chiba, Garett Lawrence, William Robert Wilson and Daniel Wilson.
COVID-19 protocols are in place for members taking part in the vote, who will be asked to sanitize their hands, wear a mask and bring their own pen if possible.
Band members last went to the polls for a referendum on whether to designate Duck Lake reserve lands as commercial to make way for a future band-owned business park. Members voted against the referendum in late January 2021.
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