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Netser named new MLA, subject to recount

"I believe it's time for change"

PATRICIA D'SOUZA

Seven votes separated Patterk Netser of Coral Harbour and his closest opponent after the ballots were tabulated in the Nanulik byelection this past Tuesday.

Netser received 165 votes, George Tanuyak of Chesterfield Inlet received 158 votes and Frances Mazhero, also of Chesterfield Inlet, receive 80 votes.

But Nunavut law requires a recount by a judge when election results are so close.

So Netser can't be officially named the new MLA for Coral Harbour and Chesterfield Inlet, replacing James Arvaluk who resigned in June, until that recount is complete. But he's not worried about what might happen.

"Whatever the outcome is, I'm prepared to accept the judgement," he said in an interview on Wednesday.

Tanuyak was equally gracious. "I don't think the recount will change anything, and I'm okay with that," he said in Inuktitut. "My team and I expected that the results were going to be close, because Coral just has a higher population than Chester. So I was really proud with the number of votes that I got."

Of 363 registered voters in Coral Harbour, 229 actually voted, either in person on polling day, at the advance poll or by mail. And of 202 registered voters in Chesterfield Inlet, 178 cast a ballot.

That adds up to a voter turnout of 72 per cent in the two communities combined, and 88 per cent in Chesterfield Inlet alone.

It's difficult to identify voting trends when the overall population is so small, said Sandy Kusugak, Nunavut's chief electoral officer.

But the territorial election in February 1999 commanded a voter turnout of about 80 per cent. Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.'s presidential election in December 2001, however, brought in less than 50 per cent of eligible voters to the polls.

"A high percentage of voters turned out yesterday," Netser said. "It showed that people out there, they need a voice, a strong voice in the government, and we haven't had that for the last four years. They want to be heard."

Francis Mazhero of Chesterfield Inlet said he was confident there would be a high voter turnout in his community after he visited every home in Chester and Coral.

But he said it may have been a bad idea for Chester to run two candidates against one candidate from Coral. "As I said to the people of Chester, it was unwise for us to run two candidates for such a small community. We should have had our own general election first to choose one candidate, and then people can vote however they want," he said.

Mazhero, who was in Iqaluit last month for the first court appearance in his $2.6-million lawsuit against the Government of Nunavut and a list of other defendants, didn't have time for a celebratory gathering on election night. Instead, he said, he was working on his case.

He hasn't decided whether he will run again in the general election to be held Feb. 16, but said he has no regrets about running this time around. "It was more than worth it. It was a very, very invigorating experience. I'm exhilarated," he said.

Tanuyak is holding out until the new year to decide whether he'll run again. "As February gets nearer, I'll start thinking about it seriously. We never know what's going to happen in the future," he said.

Netser said that by Wednesday morning he had already received several congratulatory phone calls from MLAs. Though his attention is focused on the next few months, he has already decided to run again in February.

"We are going to put in our name again, but I don't really want to think that far yet. The time will come," he said.

"People on the street were saying, 'Even if you don't get elected, Pat, you should run again in the next general election.' That was the general feeling of the people that I talked to and we've got to go with the request of the people. I believe it's time for change."

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