A former Ermineskin Cree Nation chief, Randy Ermineskin, was re-elected Aug. 12, with 169 votes, narrowly beating out incumbent Craig Makinaw, who came in second with 153 votes.
Brian Lee garnered the third-most votes with 119, the Dennis Whitebear with 113, and then Rick Wolfe, 110, Sam Minde, 90 and Laurelle White, 53.
Nominations closed on Aug. 5 with Craig Makinaw hoping to return to the top job, but faces some stiff competition from a slate of challengers with significant credentials.
Among the candidates were Sam Minde, the current president and CEO of the Neyaskweyahk Group of Companies Inc. (NGCI), who has helped grow the corporation over the past few years.
Also searching to unseat Makinaw were a former band councillor White and two councillors from the last term: Lee and Whitebear.
ECN band member Wolfe rounded out the names on the ballot.
Each of the candidates participated in an online forum on Aug. 6 via the ECN Facebook page.
The nomination process for the four councillor spots has begun with the deadline for filing the official paperwork being Aug. 19 between noon and 3 p.m.
An all-candidates forum will take place Aug. 20 and the election will be held Aug. 26.
Samson Cree Nation
A new election poll will be held on Aug. 18, for one councillor position for the ensuing term, as one councillor was disqualified and is not eligible to run.
With that exception, all other candidates who were nominated as councillors in the 2020 council election that were not elected on July 28, are qualified to run.
