Last chance to vote - City of Darwin ward of Lyons and the Legislative Assembly Division of Johnston

Electors in the City of Darwin ward of Lyons and the Legislative Assembly Division of Johnston have one chance left to vote in their respective by-elections.

After nearly two weeks of early voting, the voter turnout from electors in both byelections has been disappointing according to NT Electoral Commissioner Iain Loganathan.

“At the close of early voting on Thursday only 1299 people had cast their vote in the division of Johnston and just 2316 have voted in Lyons,” Mr Loganathan said.

The figure in Johnston represents just 26 per cent of the 4988 eligible electors enrolled. In Lyons the number who have voted is just 16 per cent of the 14,147 eligible to vote.

“Those figures are concerning when considering the additional voting centres we have had open for early voting,” Mr Loganathan said.

He said that electors who do not vote on Saturday potentially face fines.

“The last time we held a Lyons by-election in 2015, the commission sent out nearly 5000 non-voter notices,” Mr Loganathan said.

“I really hope that we have a good turnout at the voting centres tomorrow, issuing fine notices is not something we like doing.” Electors intending to vote tomorrow are reminded that they will only be able to vote at the voting centres in their electorate.

For the Johnston by-election the voting centres are at Moil and Millner Primary schools.

For the Lyons by-election electors will need to cast their vote at either the Darwin Entertainment Centre or Parap Primary School.

Political disclosure returns for registered political parties, associated entities, third party campaigners and candidates participating in the Johnston by-election were also released by the Northern Territory Electoral Commission today.

The returns for the disclosure period 7 February to 27 February 2020 are now available on the NTEC website.

Following the introduction of the amendments to the Electoral Act, which came into force on 1 January, there are greater disclosure requirements for people and organisations who participate in the electoral process,” Mr Loganathan said.

For general enquiries regarding the disclosure returns, please contact the NTEC.

Specific enquiries about a particular disclosure returns should be directed to the relevant political party, associated entity or third party campaigner.

For more information about the location of voting centres or disclosure returns go to www.ntec.nt.gov.au