Bellegarde wins another term as AFN national chief on 2nd ballot

Perry Bellegarde won a second term as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) on Wednesday amid allegations a federal minister interfered in the election.

Bellegarde clinched the victory after receiving 328votes which pushed him over the 60 per cent threshold needed to win.

It took him two rounds of voting to emerge from a field of five candidates.

Sheila North, a grand chief from Manitoba, received 125votes, putting her in second place. Miles Richardson, a former president of the Haida Nation, came in third with 59votes and Russ Diaboended his run with 10.

• Perry Bellegarde wins second term as Assembly of First Nations national chief

The fifth candidate, Katherine Whitecloud, dropped out after the first ballot.

A total of 538 chiefs and proxies cast ballots on Wednesday.Bellegardeenters his second term with a strong mandate fromAFNmember-chiefs. Henearly won inthe first ballot, garnering 53 per cent of the vote.

AttawapiskatChiefIgnaceGull, whose community sits along Ontario's James Bay coast, said he voted forBellegardebecause he saw no reason for a sudden change in direction.

Bellegardeentered the campaign as the presumptive front-runner andmanaged to maintain support from a wide base of chiefs across the country.

The room erupted in cheers when his victory was announced, andBellegarde called for unity in his speech.

"Bring back our circle in unity," he said. "And keep working together for our children, our grandchildren and those yet on board."

Bellegardesaid it was time for First Nations to "move beyond" the "genocide" of Indian residential schools and the "colonization of the Indian Act."

He said it was time to "assert ourselves as nations."

But the election ran into controversy when, amid voting on the first ballot, Crown-Indigenous Minister Carolyn Bennett met with Alberta chiefs.

Diabo, a policy analyst from Kahnawake, accusedBennett of interfering in the election.

His allegation surfaced between the first and second ballot, creating a brief air of uncertainty about what was about to unfold next.

"This is the first time I have seen a minister come in to influence chiefs on voting day," said Diabo. "I see that as political interference."

Alberta AFNRegional Chief Marlene Poitras said Bennett was invited to the meeting to speak about community issues.

"She did not whatsoever speak about any of the candidates, any of the election, none of it was brought up during the time she spent with the chiefs," said Poitras.

Bennett's office said in a statement that "at no point was the election of national chief ever discussed," during the meeting.

Diabo said it didn't matter if Bennett was invited, she should not have agreed to the meeting.

The issue spilled into the assemblyafter North, Richardson and Whitecloudsupported Diabo's criticismand confronted Bellegarde over his initial decision to distance himself from the issue.

AFN'sChief Electoral Officer LorettaJ. Pete Lambert refused to investigate, arguing it fell outside her jurisdiction, according to Diabo.

Richardson and North took a conciliatory tone in their concession speeches, also calling for unity.

"We have to stay unified, we have to love each other," said North. "We can't let government tell us what to do."

Diabo took a different approach.

"There will be consequences for the way you voted," he said. "You can boo all you want."