Special General Meeting Date Announced For Akwesasne Election Law Amendments Vote
Community to vote on acceptance of changes
The proposed final draft of the Akwesasne Election Law will be voted on at a Special General Meeting that has been rescheduled for May 12, 2018, 10 am to 12 pm at the Kana:takon/St. Regis Recreation. The meeting/vote was previously postponed due to the passing of community members.
On August 25, 2015, Council passed MCR 2015/2016-#111 to form a Working Task Group (WTG). The mandate of the WTG was to “provide a comprehensive draft Akwesasne Election Law to present to Council for acceptance in principle.”
On December 18, 2017, Mohawk Council passed MCR 2017/2018-#258 to accept the amendments of the proposed final draft of the Akwesasne Election Law 2017 dated December 8, 2017.
The amendment process will follow “Section 18 – Amendments” of the current Akwesasne Election Law.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES
Changes made to the Akwesasne Election Law in the new draft include:
- Corrected the Akwesasne Election Law document to reference positions that are currently filled at Mohawk Council of Akwesasne such as changing the reference from “Chief Administrative Officer” and replacing the reference to “Executive Director.”
- Corrected grammatical errors such as capitalizing words that are in the definition section.
- Changed the amendment provisions to be in accordance with the Akwesasne Law Enactment Procedural Regulation (or its successor) to be consistent with Akwesasne’s law enactment process.
- Changed Schedule “O” to reflect the law: The Akwesasne Election Appeal Board (AEAB) will make a decision by “majority” vote. Prior to this, the law said the AEAB will decide by majority and Schedule O said the AEAB will decide by consensus.
- Preamble changed to reflect that the Akwesasne Election Law 2005 has been revised
The Special General Meeting and vote will take place on May 12, 2018 from 10 am to 12 pm at the Kana:takon/St. Regis Recreation. MCA Eligible Voters will, by majority, decide to accept the proposed amendments or to not accept the proposed amendments entitled “Akwesasne Election Law 2017.”
Accepting the proposed amendments will result in the Akwesasne Election Law 2017 being used in the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne elections in 2021.
To not accept the proposed amendments will result in using the Akwesasne Election Law 2005 (the current law) for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne elections in 2021.
Special General Meeting – Akwesasne Election Law
Date: May 12, 2018
Location: Kana:takon/St. Regis Recreation
Hours: 10 a.m. to noon
Method of Voting: Secret Ballot Vote conducted by the Chief Electoral Officer
Copies of the proposed final amendments can be requested at the Mohawk Government Office or Akwesasne Justice Department.