Elections Nunavut is an independent agency that oversees elections and plebiscites in

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

, including: * all

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

and by-elections for the 22 Members of the

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is the legislative assembly for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The seat of the Assembly is the Legislative Building of Nunavut in Iqaluit. Prior to the creation of Nunavut as a Canadian territory on Apr ...

, according to the Nunavut Elections Act. * all municipal elections, including mayor and council, and the district education authorities for all municipalities in Nunavut. * all plebiscites conducted according to Nunavut’s Plebiscites Act. * any plebiscites that relate to the control or prohibition of liquor in Nunavut communities, according to Nunavut’s Liquor Act, and when the Minister of Finance requests. The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut appoints the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), who is the head of Elections Nunavut. It is headquartered in

Rankin Inlet Rankin Inlet ( iu, Kangiqliniq; Inuktitut syllabics: ᑲᖏᕿᓂᖅ or ''Kangirliniq'', ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᖅ, or ''Kangir&iniq'' meaning ''deep bay/inlet'') is an Inuit hamlet on Kudlulik Peninsula in Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest hamlet and ...

. The CEO appoints a

returning officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral ...

and assistant returning officer in each Nunavut constituency to oversee the election process in that constituency. A returning officer represents Elections Nunavut in each of the 22 constituencies.

Services

Elections Nunavut’s main services are to: * Administer elections in a fair, transparent, and accountable manner. * Provide public education about the electoral process, in all of Nunavut’s official languages. * Maintain an up-to-date electronic voter registration database and voters list. * Develop and distribute information and forms for voters and candidates. * Develop and provide training and manuals for election officers. * Oversee the work of all election officers during elections. * Publish and distribute maps, election returns and reports, candidate financial information, and annual reports. * Maintain a comprehensive website and provide easy access to election information and resources. * Support the work of the Nunavut Electoral Boundaries Commission. * Cooperate with other jurisdictions to improve election services. Elections Nunavut has a commitment to provide user-friendly resources and information in

plain language Plain language is writing designed to ensure the reader understands as quickly, easily, and completely as possible. Plain language strives to be easy to read, understand, and use. It avoids verbose, convoluted language and jargon. In many countr ...

, and offers services in English, French,

Inuinnaqtun Inuinnaqtun (; natively meaning ''like the real human beings/peoples''), is an indigenous Inuit language. It is spoken in the central Canadian Arctic. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and some scholars, such as Richard Condon, believe ...

and

Inuktitut Inuktitut (; , syllabics ; from , "person" + , "like", "in the manner of"), also Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the tree line, including parts of the provinces o ...

( syllabics).

History

Elections Nunavut started its work in 2000, following the first Nunavut general election in 1999. In 2017 municipal elections were passed over to Elections Nunavut from the Nunavut government's Community and Government Services Department.

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut

The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is a public government and operates on the consensus model. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) belong to no political party and voting isn’t based on party politics. Nunavummiut (the people of Nunavut) elect each of their MLAs as an independent representative. The MLAs vote for and form the government from among themselves. Soon after each general election the MLAs elect one of their Members to be

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by Speaker (politics), presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled Legislative Assembly, legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures ...

and another to be

Premier of Nunavut The premier of Nunavut ( iu, ᓯᕗᓕᖅᑎ ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ; Inuinnaqtun: ''Hivuliqti Nunavunmi''; french: premier ministre du Nunavut) is the first minister for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The premier is the territory's head of governme ...

. They also elect from among themselves the Members of Cabinet that form the government. The Cabinet are a minority in the Legislature, so the majority of MLAs must agree upon and approve any legislative decision.

References

External links

* {{Authority control

Politics of Nunavut