Nominations closed today at noon (Darwin time) for the Northern Territory Election on 24 August. The draw for ballot position started at 3pm local time.
A total of 80 candidates have nominated. Details of candidates in ballot paper order have been updated on my ABC Northern Territory Election Guide.
Inside this post you can find tables on final enrolment, the number and composition by party of candidates contesting the election, along with comparison to enrolment and nominations at previous elections.
Final Enrolment Data
At the close of rolls on 2 August there were 153,519 electors enrolled to vote, an average of 6,140 per seat. Enrolment has increased by 12,293 since 2020, an increase of 8.7%. Enrolment for each division has been added to my ABC election guide pages.
After 115 and 111 candidates at the last two elections, 2024 reverts to the longer term average with 80 candidates having nominated. Only three parties are contesting, Labor, Country Liberal and the Greens. There are 209 Independent candidates, though one, Trevor Jenkins in Goyder, 'unaffiliated' and the word Independent does not appear on the ballot paper.
Candidates by Party 1983-2024
| Election | LAB | CLP | GRN | NAT | TA | IND | OTH | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 25 | 27 | .. | .. | .. | 9 | 5 | 66 |
| 1987 | 25 | 25 | .. | 25 | .. | 10 | .. | 85 |
| 1990 | 25 | 27 | 7 | 12 | .. | 12 | .. | 83 |
| 1994 | 25 | 25 | 2 | .. | .. | 10 | 1 | 63 |
| 1997 | 25 | 25 | 2 | .. | .. | 12 | 2 | 66 |
| 2001 | 25 | 27 | .. | .. | .. | 20 | 16 | 88 |
| 2005 | 25 | 25 | 11 | .. | .. | 12 | 7 | 80 |
| 2008 | 25 | 24 | 6 | .. | .. | 11 | .. | 66 |
| 2012 | 25 | 25 | 10 | .. | .. | 10 | 16 | 86 |
| 2016 | 25 | 25 | 6 | .. | .. | 39 | 20 | 115 |
| 2020 | 25 | 24 | 10 | .. | 21 | 23 | 8 | 111 |
| 2024 | 24 | 25 | 11 | .. | .. | 20 | .. | 80 |
Candidates for the more important 'other' parties were -
- Australian Democrats 1983 (5), 1994 (1), 1997 (1), 2001 (3), 2004 (2)
- One Nation 2001 (5)
- First Nations Party 2012 (8)
- 1 Territory Party 2016 (13)
The Country Liberal Party have nominated a candidate for every seat, including Mulka that the party did not contest in 2020. Labor contested every seat in 2020 but has not nominated a candidate for Mulka in 2024.
There has been a late nomination by Independent Beverley Ratahi in Nelson. She finished second in 2020 having tried to succeed Gerry Wood. She tries again in 2024, though with a shoreter period to campaign and with a lower profile.
In the Alice Springs seat of Braitling, businessman, anti-crime campaigner and 'Action for Alice' administrator, Darren Clark, has decided not to nominate as an Independent.
Finally, here's the break up of candidates by gender.
Hi Antony, has the NT electoral commission indicated how the vote counting process will unfold? Eg. prepoll, postal, remote booths. Thank you.
COMMENT: The NTEC has always counted pre-poll and mobile votes on election night and will do so again in 2024. They are also counting returned postal votes on election night in 2024. I’m not sure they have done that before. The NTEC has also designated more polling places as joint voting centres so some votes that were cast as absents in the past will now be counted on election night.
The count is expected to be much quicker compared to 2020. First, there are fewer candidates. Second, the strong Covid rules that limited the number of counting tables in 2020 no longer apply. Third, the closed borders in 2020 meant there were fewer casual workers around to be employed as counting staff.