HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Chippewa Cree voters have returned Ken Blatt St. Marks to the tribal chairmanship he was ousted from four months ago, picking him in a special election by a sizeable margin over one of the council members who removed the chairman.

St. Marks led all six candidates in Tuesday’s election with 453 votes out of 1,116 votes cast. Interim Chairman Ricky Morsette, who was among the Chippewa Cree Tribal Business Committee members who removed St. Marks in March, was second with 315 votes.

The governing business committee accused St. Marks of neglect of duty and gross misconduct. St. Marks disputed the allegations, saying he was targeted for his actions to clean up corruption on the Rocky Boy’s reservation and for participating in a federal investigation that has led to the indictments of other tribal leaders.

St. Marks did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday. He previously called his ouster illegal and vowed since his dismissal that he would return to the chairmanship in spite of the council’s actions.

“They should be shaking in their boots,” he told The Associated Press in an April interview.

Tribal spokesman Tony Woods said Wednesday that a five-day waiting period follows the election to allow time for any protests to be filed. If no one challenges the results, St. Marks will take office Monday morning.

The business committee has not released a statement on the election results, Woods said.

The federal investigation that St. Marks participated in has resulted in six indictments on charges that federal funding meant to build a 50-mile water pipeline to the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation was diverted through a complex scheme of intermediaries and a shell company.

Among those indicted were tribal business committee member John Chance Houle and Chippewa Cree Construction Corp. CEO Tony Belcourt. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

St. Marks filed as a candidate for the first special election for chairman that was to be held in May. But three days after he was certified, the tribe’s election board disqualified him, citing a 1966 tribal ordinance that said any person removed from the business committee for neglect of duty within the past two years is not qualified.

St. Marks challenged the decision in tribal court, resulting in that election’s postponement. A court clerk said at the time the outcome of the proceedings were confidential, but St. Marks appeared on the new roster of candidates when Tuesday’s special election was announced.

Other candidates included state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, who received 192 votes; tribal natural resources director Curtis Monteau Jr., 108 votes; school superintendent Bert Corcoran, 32 votes; and economic developer Luanne Belcourt, 16 votes.