Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
NT election final vote count expected
The Northern Territory Electoral Commission says it will make its final count of votes on Friday, once the noon deadline for postal votes expires.
September 4, 2020
The last votes in the Northern Territory’s nailbiter election are set to be counted, with the frontrunners in one electorate separated by just six votes.
Labor has already claimed victory with early results confirming the party will hold at least 13 seats in the 25-member assembly following the August 22 poll.
But the outcome of six seats remains in doubt, with Araluen, Arnhem, Barkly, Blain, Daly and Namatjira separated by less than 100 votes.
The rural electorate of Namatjira, which covers part of Alice Springs, Country Liberal Party candidate Bill Yan is currently ahead of Labor’s Sheralee Taylor, 1770 votes to 1764.
In Araluen, Territory Alliance leads the CLP 2160 ballots to 2143 and in Arnhem, Labor has the edge on independent Ian Gumbula with 1488 vote to 1399.
Labor also leads in Barkly and Blain with 1691 and 2084 ballots respectively to the CLP, which has received 1671 and 2069 votes in the seats.
In Daly, the CLP leads Labor 1968 to 1881 votes, with two-party preferred preferences applied.
The Northern Territory Electoral Commission says it will make its final count of votes on Friday, once the noon deadline for postal votes expires.
The full distribution of preferences in each of the NT’s 25 seats will then start with a formal declaration of the poll scheduled for September 7.