Nation IN BRIEF : OKLAHOMA : No Clear Winner Yet in Tribal Election

Votes for only one candidate were counted in a runoff election for chief of the Cherokee Nation, and there still was no guarantee of a clear-cut winner, a tribal judge said. The only votes counted were those for Joe Byrd, who finished second in the general election, in which no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. The Judicial Appeals Tribunal had earlier upheld a ruling that the leading vote-getter in the June 17 general election, George Bearpaw, should be disqualified because he pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon 20 years ago. The tribunal also agreed, however, to consider a request by the third-place candidate, Chad Smith, to face Byrd in another runoff.