Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizens wishing to run for chief may now begin submitting their nomination forms.
The First Nation published a notice of election writ as well as a call for nominations on May 1.
Nomination forms must be submitted to chief electoral officer Tanya Silverfox via email or regular mail by 4 p.m. on May 15, with the election for Haa Shaa du Hen, or chief, to be held on June 30.
Candidates must be C/TFN citizens, be at least 21 years old by the closing date for nominations and have at least 50 eligible voters sign their nomination forms.
C/TFN’s notice of election writ says that an “extraordinary exception” will be made this election for the signatures; voters will also be able to nominate candidates over the phone “to continue practising physical distancing.”
Silverfox also wrote in an email that there “will be many physical distancing parameters in place to carry out the election safely, as per the recommendations from the Chief Medical Officer.”
The election day poll will take place from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Carcross Learning Centre, with early votes to take place on May 31 in Whitehorse, June 7 in Tagish and June 14 in Carcross. Mail-in ballots are also available by request and will also be accepted from May 18 to June 30.
C/TFN’s current chief is Lynda Dickson, who was elected to the position in July 2019 following a by-election after the dismissal of then-chief Andy Carvill in April that same year over sexual harassment allegations.
The next chief will serve a regular four-year term.
Nomination forms are available on C/TFN’s website at ctfn.ca.
Contact Jackie Hong at jackie.hong@yukon-news.com