Bellegarde concedes race, Atleo elected new AFN Chief

And the new National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations(AFN) is... Shawn
Atleo.
Saskatchewan candidate Perry Bellegarde fell short in his attempt to win the position in a nearly 24-hour race that saw a seesaw battle in which Bellegarde eventually conceded defeat to Shawn Atleo.
"I wanted it as close to the 60 per cent," said Bellegarde after hugging Atleo on the floor to congratulate him as AFN's new leader, following the results of the record
setting eighth ballot.
The final results were announced at 7:35 a.m. on July 23, almost a full day after voting had begun on the morning of July 22 to replace Phil Fontaine in the key role for the AFN. With the number of chiefs
voting dropping from the first ballot's 553 to 454, the magic number to win the
position was 274, 60 per cent of the vote as required by AFN's charter.
Bellegarde conceded the position with Atleo's percentage at 58.11.
When the results of the seventh ballot were counted, Atleo had garnered 53.5 per cent of the vote.
"Chiefs make the decision. I will not quit. Chiefs, work the room," said Bellegarde to a mixed crowd that had gathered around following the seventh ballot results. Shortly after the statement, Bellegarde and Atleo met privately to "discuss options. They'll decide on those options," said Bryan LaForme, chief of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation and Bellegarde's nominator for candidate. The two met for five minutes and decided that both names would remain on the ballot for the next round. The announcement, made at 6 a.m., was met with a round of boos from those who remained in the main room, as was the suggestion that the two candidates address the assembly and outline their platforms again. A leadership candidate forum was held the day before.
As far as Chief Kathy Dickie, of Fort Nelson First Nation was concerned ­ as a
Bellegarde supporter ­she thought Bellegarde made the right decision to remain on the ballot.
"I'd be really disappointed if he dropped out," she said as the voting was occurring. "I believe there's a strong difference between the candidates."
Dickie said she supported Bellegarde because of his firm stand on treaties and his push to bring government on side to uphold treaty rights and prevent industry from taking advantage of First Nations' resources.
Atleo and Bellegarde were joined by John Beaucage, Terrance Nelson and Bill Wilson on the first ballot. AFN Charter rules saw Nelson and Wilson drop off following the
first ballot. Beaucage, who garnered only 15 per cent of the vote, chose to withdraw from the second ballot. All three candidates, who dropped from the race, threw their support behind Bellegarde.
Said Chief LaForme, "they thought he was the better candidate."
After the first ballot, Atleo was leading with 43 per cent of the vote and Bellegarde had 29 per cent. The second
ballot saw the race closed considerably with only four votes separating the two
candidates and Atleo at the top with 276. The third ballot had Atleo one vote
ahead of Bellegarde at 266. On ballot four, Bellegarde came out ahead by three
votes, garnering 267. The fifth ballot saw the two men tied at 254.
"It's really hard to break a tie," said Don Kelly, Director of Communications for AFN,
"especially when after one ballot it comes down to two candidates right away."
Candidates need to sway voters by ensuring their platforms are known,
by listening to voters, determining what they have not addressed and what voters
consider priorities, added Kelly.
Campaigners were out pulling chiefs from
bed and casinos to vote, but the number of voters still declined considerably.
It wasn't until the sixth ballot, by which time the number of chiefs voting had
dropped by 55, that Atleo started pulling ahead with his largest vote difference
since the first ballot with 14 votes. On the seventh ballot, Atleo had increased
the gap to 34 votes.
Dickie said talk at the polling station when chiefs were lining up for the eighth ballot was that one candidate should concede. But she held that candidates shouldn't be punished for a system that wasn't working.
"It's the process that needs to be changed. My mind is made up and I'm not going
to change my mind."
Atleo supporter Chief John Helin of the Lax Kw'alaams First Nations of British Columbia agreed with Dickie.
"It's a long drawn out process. Something needs to be changed," he said. "They should have a mechanism in place that if they're down to two candidates it should be 50 per cent plus one (to win the election)."
There were concerns that taking the leadership race to eight ballots had polarized AFN membership, these concerns were addressed immediately by both Bellegarde and Atleo.
Atleo recognized Bellegarde by bringing him and his campaign team on stage and having an honour dance performed for him. As well, after being sworn in as the new national chief, Atleo asked the assembly to stand and applaud Bellegarde for his "incredible effort."
Bellegarde supported both the selection process and Atleo with his comments from the stage. "From east, west, north and south, make no question that we are unified. One mind, one body.... I know that we will pledge our support and our allegiance and our trust to work with the... new national chief."
Bellegarde, 46, is former leader of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, while Atleo, 42, currently held the position of AFN regional chief for B.C. Atleo, who is from the Ahousaht First Nation on Vancouver Island, is the first national leader from B.C. in 33 years. Elections for national chief take place every three years.