Peter Lantin has been re-elected as president of the Council of the Haida Nation.
Mr. Lantin narrowly defeated candidate Allan Davidson by 38 votes of 864 counted. That narrow margin, in addition to close numbers for Old Massett representatives, prompted an appeal of the results, delaying election results by several days.
However, after a recount the chief electoral officer, Jennifer Russ, declared the results final.
“The Appeals Board ruled that there were no grounds for an appeal under section 15.5 of the CHN Election Regulartions,” she wrote. “The Board has dismissed the appeal and the decision of the Board is final….”
The final count for president was 348 for Mr. Lantin and 313 for Mr. Davidson.
This is Mr. Lantin’s second term as president. He rose to the council’s top spot in 2012, then winning by acclamation after rival candidate Robert Mills withdrew from the race.
CHN Vice President Trevor Russ also held on to his position for another term, beating his sole challenger Christopher Campbell 640 votes to 181.
Regional elected representatives are Tyler Bellis, Robert Bennett, Leslie Brown and Stephen Grosse for Old Massett; Jason Alsop, William Shawn Cowpar, Percy Crosby and William Russ for Skidegate; Pansy Collison and Roger Smith for Prince Rupert; David Smith and Ernest Swanson for Vancouver.
