Northern Territory Consolidated Regulations Northern Territory Consolidated Regulations53. Election for principal member of the council
(1) If the principal member is to be elected, the returning officer will proceed as follows:
(a) the first preference votes are counted;
(b) if, after first preference votes are counted, it appears that 1 candidate has achieved more than 50% of the formal votes, the returning officer will declare that candidate to have been elected;
(c) if, after first preference votes are counted, it appears that no candidate has achieved more than 50% of the formal votes, the candidate with the lowest number of first preference votes is excluded from the count and the votes cast in favour of that candidate are counted to the remaining candidates according to the next preference expressed by the voter;
(d) if, following the distribution of preferences under paragraph (c), a candidate has achieved more than 50% of the formal votes, the returning officer will declare that candidate to have been elected but, if not, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is excluded from the count and the votes formerly counted to that candidate are counted to the remaining candidates according to the next available preference expressed by the voter;
(e) the process of exclusion and preference distribution continues until a candidate achieves more than 50% of the formal votes;
(f) when a candidate achieves more than 50% of the formal votes, the returning officer will declare the candidate to have been elected.
(2) If there are 2 or more candidates with the lowest number of votes and 1 (or more) of them is to be excluded from the count, the returning officer must decide, by lot, which candidate is to continue in the count.
(3) If there are 2 candidates remaining in the count with the same number of votes, the returning officer must:
(a) have a recount of all ballot papers carried out; and
(b) if, after the recount, the votes remain equal - decide by lot which is to be the successful candidate.