[LINK] "Navajo Nation president sworn in despite losing re-election"

[rfmcdonald]

Al Jazeera notes how the refusal of the winning candidate in the Navajo Nation's recent presidential election to demonstrate a fluency in the Navajo language has led to political uncertainty.

The president of the Navajo Nation was sworn in Tuesday to continue as the tribe's top leader — even though he lost his re-election bid.

That's because the presidency of the largest Native American nation in the United States is in limbo over an election that hasn't been scheduled. As a result, Ben Shelly will remain president as part of a deal he struck with lawmakers until the mess gets sorted out.

[. . .]

Tribal lawmakers were sworn in during a public ceremony nearby in Fort Defiance that was broadcast live online. Speakers at the event hardly mentioned the presidential race that was thrown into turmoil before the tribe's Nov. 4 general election when candidate Chris Deschene was disqualified because of a ruling that he wasn't fluent in the Navajo language, which sparked a passionate debate on the importance of the language in public life.

The Navajo Nation Supreme Court mandated that the election be held by Jan. 31. But Shelly and lawmakers approved a do-over allowing all previous 17 primary election candidates to face off in a special election in June. The top two vote-getters would move on to the August general election, and the new president would take the oath of office in September.