North Territorians head to the polls to elect representatives for sixteen local councils

ABC NEWS (Australia)

While 36 per cent of voters casted their ballots early in the Northern Territory's council elections, the Electoral Commission says voter participation could be a major concern this year.

Transcript

00:00Council elections. Deciding the future of the Northern Territory's community spaces.

00:08Many heading to the polls, but not all eagerly.

00:12I've just come here just so I don't cop the fine honestly.

00:16I see voting in local elections as more of an obligation than it is really driving any change.

00:22It's going to have some sort of say I suppose.

00:24The electoral commissioner says voter fatigue has led to a decline in participation this year.

00:29But how hard polling burnout has hit remains to be seen.

00:34We have had a lot of elections. We had the federal election in May and we've had our territory election in August last year.

00:39Voter apathy, council controversy and stiff competition against 12 other candidates,

00:45leaving Darwin's current mayor anxious to see if he'll win a third term.

00:50And never ever took anything for granted.

00:53People make up their mind and the decision at 6 o'clock tonight will be made.

00:58So I'm waiting anxiously for the results.

01:00It's an election that's also had its fair share of scandal.

01:04With concerns over fake how to vote cards with different preferences.

01:09This is my name in here and my picture in here. Where they get my picture? From my car?

01:14This is dangerous. This is dangerous because this is dodgy politic.

01:18In Palmerston, the mayor is seeking a third term.

01:21I think most of the community are quite pleased with the way council's been operating and so they're not looking to change.

01:27There's always room for improvements isn't there? I mean like youth crime, jobs and work for certain people.

01:32It's such a family friendly place and I just like to see things going on as they are.

01:37There's always room for improvement but I like what I see so far.

01:40After last year's rate rise, this mayor hopeful says it's time for change and more diversity at the table.

01:47At the end of the day, local government was meant to be about the people, for the people, by the people.

01:52But somewhere along the line, they've lost that connection.

01:56Counting has begun but it could be a while before the results come in.

02:00Notice here is a GEORGE using .

02:02몇 가지 Morgen charges are the same page and the majority of the populationפנה created.

02:10At the end of the day while you think about it tomorrow, the majority of them are the same page,

02:16the majority reading track.

02:21There's a lot of people who reidend.

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