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Navajo Court Rules In Favor Of Former Two-Term President

(AP Photo/Cayla Nimmo)

Former two-term Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. can continue his run for the tribe's top elected office.

The Navajo Nation Supreme Court made the decision Thursday after hearing an appeal on term limits.
    
One of Shirley's primary challengers, Vincent Yazzie, had argued the court erred in previously ruling that Navajos who have served two consecutive terms as president could sit out a term and run again.
    
Yazzie's initial grievance was dismissed as untimely and for failure to state a violation of the election code.
    
The high court justices upheld that ruling by the tribe's Office of Hearings and Appeals.
    
Shirley faces current Vice President Jonathan Nez in next month's general election.
    
The court hearing had forced the tribe's election office to shift its schedule for printing ballots