Begaye wins Navajo Nation presidential election

Russell Begaye will be the new president of the Navajo Nation, according to unofficial election results that show Begaye drew more than 10,000 more votes than his counterpart, Joe Shirley, Jr.

Jonathan Nez, a three-time Navajo Nation Council delegate, will serve as Begaye’s vice president.

View the full unofficial election results here.

The Navajo Times reported that only 37 percent of 130,000 registered Navajo voters cast a ballot, according Election Administration Director Edison Wauneka.

The long-awaited election had been in limbo since November after former candidate Chris Deschene, who won a presidential primary last summer, was removed from the ballot over questions about his fluency in the Navajo language.

Begaye previously served on the Navajo Nation Council and replaced Deschene when he was disqualified.

Just Friday, a judge ordered that the election be postponed until the language fluency questions were voted on by the Navajo people, but that order was reversed by the Navajo Supreme Court Monday.

Deschene said he submitted a vote of no confidence in the election, something several other voters told KOB on Tuesday they would do as well.

Begaye and Nez will have a large task at hand as they will have to tackle several issues within the Navajo Nation, including how to use a $554 million settlement from the federal government, widespread energy and land usage issues, and discrepancies within the tribe regarding its law and applicability to modern times.