Council will choose Resolute’s next mayor

There won’t be a byelection to choose Resolute’s replacement mayor. It was decided at the Feb. 22 council meeting that an existing councillor will be chosen to move into the mayor’s seat, said Daryl Dibblee, Resolute’s senior administrative officer. That individual was not selected on Feb. 22, however, because there wasn’t a full quorum, with only six of eight councillors present.

The vacated council spot will then be offered to the candidate with the most votes who didn’t earn a council seat in the Dec. 11 hamlet election, Dibblee said. Election results show that would be Aziz Kheraj.

The next opportunity to address the issue at council will come on March 12.

The mayor’s job became available when Joyce Laprise announced in early February that she was stepping down after being elected in December. Dibblee said the reason for Laprise’s resignation is unknown to council. Laprise declined to share the reason with Nunavut News.