ITK election system stinks

I have a great deal of concern when it comes to the selection of presidents for the national Inuit organizations, with so few people selecting the ITK president this month. I think this system stinks and should be done away with.

There are at least two organizations that I know of that fill important positions with delegates voting only at their AGMs, unlike NTI and regional Inuit organizations, which select their presidents and executives at region-wide elections. I think this system of AGM delegates only voting on important positions can be wide open to cronyism, with elected presidents who can stay in place for a long time, depending on how well they network with regional bosses.

ITK first called an election, and only two candidates filed nomination forms. Then ITK decided not to have an election. Now it’s on again. What bothers me is that so few people will cast votes in order for me to call someone my representative. Who will speak for me on national and international events? That’s great for me – no say in who will be my Pied Piper.

Two candidates were enough at the original election call, and now we have seven candidates with an on-again election with some who appear to be preordained.

Here’s my beef: only 12 people will decide who will take this important position. With what appears to be healthy resources financially, could the ITK presidency be decided on a national scale with elections coinciding with municipal elections in Nunavut or the NWT or even be cost-shared with NTI elections?

With the current system in place, John and Jane Doe, without regional buddies, will never have any decent hope of winning this position, or others like it, as long as elections are held at AGMs by national organizations serving the Inuit of Canada.

There are many bright young minds out there ready to give all they can to their Inuit public. I think we need new ideas where Nunavut and Canadian Inuit should be heading in terms of politics and economics at the national and world stage.

T. Owlijoot
Arviat