Native language requirement controversy finally settled following crucial Navajo Presidential vote | Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

The Associated Press reported from Window Rock, Arizona that “final results from the Navajo Nation presidential election show Russell Begaye winning nearly 63 percent of the vote to defeat Joe Shirley Jr.” with “25,902 votes to Shirley’s 15,245”. The election has been an important test of the Navajo election system. According to the Associated Press:

“About one-third of Navajos registered to vote in the special election cast a ballot for president. The results are slightly different from election night and reflect counts from provisional ballots. Shirley’s campaign also had requested a manual recount of 10 precincts to check the voting systems.

Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez will be sworn in Tuesday. They succeed Ben Shelly and Rex Lee Jim, who served an extended term while officials sorted out the chaos that arose when one candidate was challenged on his ability to speak fluent Navajo as required by tribal law.”

See this HCN article about Begaye’s battle with developers in Navajo lands.