Navajo Nation
Legislation filed to remove Navajo fluency requirement for many official positions
A Navajo Nation Council Delegate has introduced legislation that will try and remove language fluency requirements in the Navajo Nation Election Code for the nation’s president, vice president, council delegates, land board members, farm board members and district grazing committee members.
The legislation will be eligible for committee action on Oct. 19. The public will be able to submit comments during a five-day comment period.
The legislation comes on the heels of a spat between potential Navajo Nation presidential candidates, who have attacked candidate Chris Deschene for not being able to “fluently” speak Navajo.
However, the Navajo Elections Board of Supervisors ruled 7-1 Monday that Deschene will be allowed on the ballot despite the challenges.
Navajo elections board: Deschene will be on ballot; elections will go forth as planned
The Navajo Nation election will go forth as planned and Chris Deschene will be on the ballot, despite objections to his candidacy, according to Edison Wauneka, the Executive Director of the Navajo Election Administration.
Deschene will run against Joe Shirley, Jr. in the election, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 4.
Wauneka said there had been no court order to remove Deschene from the ballot, and the Navajo Elections Board of Supervisors voted 7-1 Monday to proceed with the ballot as planned. Continue reading
Navajo Nation might postpone presidential election because of Supreme Court language challenge
Navajo Nation election leaders might be forced to postpone this year’s presidential elections because a pending Navajo Nation Supreme Court decision against candidate Chris Deschene, who doesn’t speak Navajo fluently, a requirement to be president, according to the Navajo Times.
The Navajo Election Administration is under a tight deadline of Thursday to print absentee ballots, which are required to be mailed 30 days before the Nov. 3 election.
However, the Navajo Nation Supreme Court says it won’t have a decision to the challenge against Deschene until Friday at the earliest.