Sheutiapik alleges voter irregularities in Iqaluit West election

Iqaluit Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik, who unsuccessfully ran against Iqaluit West MLA Paul Okalik in last fall's territorial election, has filed a complaint alleging some voters were not eligible to vote in their constituency.

In a complaint sent to both the RCMP and Elections Nunavut, Sheutiapik claims at least 22 people who cast ballots in the Oct. 27 election did not actually live in Iqaluit West, where she and Okalik were competing.

Okalik was re-elected by a margin of just 44 votes, making it one of the closest races in the election. Okalik had 340 votes over Sheutiapik's 296, according to official election results.

Although the complaint was filed in November, Sheutiapik said she was sharing her concerns with the media now because she had not heard back from police or Elections Nunavut.

"I actually have one scrutineer who said their sister voted and didn't live in the riding, but went to vote in my riding because apparently [she is] a relative to Paul," Sheutiapik told CBC News on Monday.

"Towards the end of election day, there was lots that were not on the voters list. Were they truly eligible? I don't know."

Sheutiapik said she does not know if an investigation would change the outcome of the election, but she added that because the results were so close, it is important for her to get answers.

"I tried to ... get an updated voters list from the actual election process, but because I wasn't a successful candidate, I couldn't get that list," she said.

"So I couldn't even verify my draft list from the scrutineers to the actual vote."

Okalik said he has not heard anything about Sheutiapik's complaint. He said he hopes the matter is dealt with soon.

"Well, it's unfortunate, I hadn't heard [of] any irregularities to this point," he said.

"I hope that it will be investigated quickly and dealt with. They're entitled to a reply."

Nunavut chief electoral officer Sandy Kusugak told CBC News that her office does not handle complaints such as Sheutiapik's.

The RCMP would determine if a breach of the Nunavut Elections Act had occurred, and decide if charges were warranted, Kusugak said.

RCMP said the investigation was underway, but moving slowly.