After an election rife with controversy and delays, the Liard First Nation elected George Morgan as chief on Monday.

Morgan replaces Chief Daniel Morris, who held onto power for six months beyond the end of his three-year term. He also made a last-ditch attempt on Saturday to again postpone Monday’s election.

Morgan won with 203 votes, while Morris received 102 votes.

On Saturday, Morris got a band council resolution passed that aimed at stopping the election from taking place, Emma Donnessy, co-chair of the Liard First Nations Election Committee, said in an interview today.

According to those behind the resolution, the election couldn’t go ahead because an investigation into “things that happened in the band” was underway, she said.

Details about exactly what or who was allegedly being investigated, and who was conducting the investigation, are unclear.

“It was Saturday the 3rd when we got the BCR (band council resolution), but we continued because that’s our mandate,” said Donnessy.

“Whatever happens out there, that’s not our business because we’re not political. We just follow the rules and regulations of the Liard First Nation election.”

Mail-in ballots, which had been sent to Liard First Nation members elsewhere in Canada, had already started coming in, she added.

The election for chief and council was initially supposed to take place in December 2016.

When Morris failed to call an election, members of the First Nation took the chief and council to court.

A Federal Court judge ordered Morris and his council to draw up a timeline for an election by early February.

An election date was set for April 10. It was put off yet again after the chief returning officer, Lois Moorcroft, suddenly announced her resignation on March 21.

Moorcroft, a former NDP MLA, declined to comment on her reasons for stepping down.

Colleen Craft was brought on as chief returning officer in April and election day was rescheduled for yesterday.

In an interview this morning, Morgan called his win a “victory for democracy.”

“We are pleased that our democracy prevailed,” he told the Star.

“This really was about our democracy and making sure that our leadership respects our democratic process,” he said.

Dorothy Hayes and Don Magun also made unsuccessful bids for chief.

Fred Lutz of Lower Post, B.C. was elected deputy chief with 45 votes.

The four Yukon councillors are Alfred Chief, Travis Stewart, Kathy Magun and Dawn McDonald.

The two Lower Post councillors are Malcolm Groat and Harlan Schilling.

“I feel uplifted, I feel somewhat buoyant, but there’s still trepidation,” Morgan said after his win.

“There are lots of pitfalls ahead, lots of challenges ahead, and we have a lot of work to do.”

Morgan noted that the First Nation hasn’t been in control of its finances since it was placed under third-party management in 2014.

Ganhada, an indigenous-owned B.C. company, took over administration after the First Nation defaulted on its funding agreement with the federal government.

“Our bank accounts were seized through court orders, so that’s another challenge we’re going to have to try and work on,” said Morgan.

“We need to show that we’re responsible managers of money.”

Morgan’s first order of business is to meet with the newly-elected council and consult with elders about how to proceed in the near term.

He also intends to meet with Yukon government leaders and officials from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).

“I strongly believe in intergovernmentalism, said Morgan. “I’m more than happy and willing to meet with other governments.”

Morgan is a member of the Wolf clan and spent his early childhood in foster homes in Watson Lake, Whitehorse and Dawson City.

He was taken from his family at age four, during the ’60s Scoop, a period in recent Canadian history in which indigenous children were removed from their communities and placed with white families.

At age 10, Morgan was adopted into a James Bay Cree family in Manitoba.

He returned to Watson Lake in 2011, where he now lives with his partner and three young children.

Before moving back to Watson Lake, Morgan worked in Ottawa for nine years.

He was an analyst at The Institute on Governance, and a youth intervenor for the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.

He has also worked as an analyst with Statistics Canada, and as an INAC bylaw advisor.

As part of his platform, Morgan promised to hold regular chief and council meetings that would be open to all Liard First Nation members, as well as annual general assemblies.

He said he wants to complete outstanding audits from the last three years.

“I remain committed to making significant improvements in our governance through fairness, transparency, accountability and the rule of law,” Morgan said today in an emailed statement.

“Only in that way can we ensure economic success.”