Few winners announced as Nunavut’s election day draws to a close

• See the latest election results in Inuktitut here
• See the latest election results in English here

Very few winners have been announced at the end of Nunavut’s territorial election day.

As of 11:59 p.m. ET, only one winner has been declared: Brian Koonoo has been elected as the new MLA of Tununiq — which covers Pond Inlet — with 50 per cent of the vote.

Results came in from fewer than half of the territory’s 22 constituencies, including Aivilik, Amittuq, Arviat North-Whale Cove, Netsilik, Quttiktuq, Rankin Inlet North-Chesterfield Inlet and Uqqummiut. No results from any of the constituencies in the territory’s capital city, Iqaluit, were posted before the day ended.

Polls closed at 7 p.m. in each of the region’s three time zones. For much of the evening, Elections Nunavut’s website was not loading.

In a written response to CBC News, Kiran Situt, Elections Nunavut’s chief electoral officer, said the organization is taking care with posting results.

“We take the verification process seriously. In addition, the special ballots arrived late on Canadian North. We will post all the results tonight before we leave,” he said.

There are no votes in two constituencies because the candidates, including former government house leader David Joanasie, were acclaimed.

Will Nunavut reverse the trend in voter turnout?

Voter turnout has been steadily declining since the first Nunavut general election in 1999. Less than half of eligible voters cast a ballot in 2021, compared to 86 per cent in 1999.

Speaking to CBC News ahead of election day, Manitok Thompson, one of Nunavut’s first MLAs, said she, alongside other Nunavummiut, were so excited about the territory when it was first created.

But fast forward to 2025, she said the government’s slow progress on important issues like the high cost of living and a housing crisis is fuelling voter apathy.

“I think they are not seeing any changes that are from their basic needs. Those are the people that go out to vote, but they're not going out anymore,” she said.

The youth vote will be a crucial one to watch. About half of Nunavut’s population is under 25 years of age, though the last territorial election saw youth had the lowest voter registration.

According to Elections Nunavut’s results page, there are roughly 17,000 registered voters in this year's general election.

As a consensus-style government, there are no political parties and candidates run as independents.

Members of cabinet are chosen approximately two weeks after the general election. Newly-elected MLAs gather to select the Speaker, premier and ministers, in a secret-ballot election.