The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will have a new Tribal Chief following Tuesday’s runoff election.

Cyrus Ben won with approximately 65 percent of the vote, according to unofficial election results, with 2,068 votes to incumbent Phyliss J. Anderson’s 1,109 votes. 

Absentee votes, which number less than the difference between the two candidates, were expected to be counted Wednesday evening to produce the official election results.

Anderson, the first woman elected to the position, served two terms as the third Tribal Chief, succeeding Beasley Denson in 2011. Ben will be the fourth Tribal Chief.

The 10,000-member tribe, which controls three casinos and several other business ventures, received federal recognition in 1945 and covers 35,000 acres in ten different counties.

The tribe’s eight reservation communities include Bogue Chitto, Bogue Homa, Conehatta, Crystal Ridge, Pearl River, Red Water, Standing Pine and Tucker.