# 2021 Alice Springs Town Council election

The 2021 Alice Springs Town Council election were held on 28 August 2021 to elect a mayor and eight councillors to the Town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The election was held as part of the local government elections held throughout the Northern Territory.

## Background

Ahead of the 2020 Northern Territory general election, three Alice Springs councillors - Marli Banks, Eli Melky and Catherine Satour - joined the Australian Federation Party, with Melky as the party's NT leader. However, all three left the party by the time of the 2021 local elections.
Additionally, Matt Paterson was a Territory Alliance candidate, however he left the party around the time it dissolved following the 2020 election.

## Results
### Mayor

2021 Northern Territory mayoral elections: Alice Springs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Jimmy Cocking | 3,101 | | |
| | Independent | Matt Paterson | 2,418 | | |
| | Independent | Eli Melky | 1,959 | | |
| | Independent | Marli Banks | 695 | | |
| | Country Liberal | Steve Brown | 559 | | |
| | Independent Greens | Blair McFarland | 356 | | |
| | Independent | Aaron Blacker | 346 | | |
| | Independent | Patrick Bedford | 240 | | |
| | Independent | Wayne Wright | 63 | | |
| | Independent | Angus McIvor | 49 | | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 9,786 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 58.68 | −12.32 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Independent | Matt Paterson | 4,894 | 50.01 | |
| | Independent | Jimmy Cocking | 4,892 | 49.99 | |
| | Independent gain from Country Liberal | Independent gain from Country Liberal | Swing | | |

### Councillors

2021 Northern Territory local elections: Alice Springs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Jimmy Cocking (elected 1) | 2,595 | | |
| | Independent | Eli Melky (elected 2) | 1,366 | | |
| | Independent | Mark Coffey (elected 3) | 1,089 | | |
| | Independent | Marli Banks (elected 4) | 487 | | |
| | Country Liberal | Steve Brown (elected 5) | 473 | | |
| | Greens | Emily Webster | 436 | | |
| | Independent | Michael Liddle (elected 8) | 425 | | |
| | Independent | Allison Bitar (elected 7) | 385 | | |
| | Independent | Kim Hopper (elected 6) | 372 | | |
| | Country Liberal | Sean Heenan | 347 | | |
| | Independent | Aaron Blacker | 336 | | |
| | Independent | Catherine Satour | 326 | | |
| | Independent | Darren Burton | 240 | | |
| | Independent | Patrick Bedford | 229 | | |
| | Independent | James Dash | 48 | | |
| | Independent | Wayne Wright | 48 | | |
| | Independent | Angus McIvor | 44 | | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 9,246 | 90.1 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,015 | 9.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 58.68 | −12.32 |

## Aftermath

The mayoral election was decided by just two votes, the closest result that Northern Territory Electoral Commissioner Iain Loganathan said he had ever seen.
Unsuccessful candidate Jimmy Cocking requested a new recount, but it was rejected by the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal in October 2021.