Want to run for Council?

With the notice of nominations posted Wednesday, it’s time for those considering vying for a seat on the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) to begin organizing their candidacies.

The nomination period will run from Wednesday, June 25, to Friday, June 27, with six seats as chief and one seat as grand chief up for grabs.

During those dates, each nominee and their nominator must present themselves in person between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and submit their paperwork to the chief electoral officer at the Kanesatake Education Center.

Those who would like to run can contact chief electoral officer Graeme Drew by email at [email protected] starting from June 18 at 8 a.m. to obtain the nomination forms.

To be eligible to run for an MCK seat, prospective candidates must be a member of the Mohawks of Kanesatake, have “had their place of ordinary residence for not less than three years” before the election, have lived in the J0N 1E0 postal code, be of Kanesatake Mohawk ancestry, and be at least 18 years old by June 27.

Anyone convicted of a criminal offense without a pardon or record suspension, except if the offense involves the exercise of Indigenous rights, is ineligible, as well as those who have outstanding financial debts to the MCK or its departments.

Those who have been removed by a vote of non-confidence following due process since the ratification of the Custom Electoral Code or have been previously suspended from the MCK because of being charged with a criminal offense, unless that person has been acquitted, are also ineligible.

Candidates for grand chief must have already served a full term on Council, which is defined as four years.

Anyone interested in running will need a nominator who is on the voter list, is of Kanesatake Mohawk ancestry, and is at least 18 years old by June 27. Each nominator can put forward a maximum of one candidate for chief and one for grand chief.

Candidacies must also be seconded in writing by an elector, but the seconder does not have to present themselves in person like the nominee and nominator do. Electors can second more than one candidate.

A provisional list of candidates will be posted on June 29, shortly after the nomination period closes, and candidates on the list can be contested by those concerned about their eligibility until July 1.

On July 4, the final list of candidates will be posted for the August 2 election.

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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter