this is a list of territorial elections in northwest territories, canada since 1870. the northwest territories operates on a consensus government using the first past the post electoral system. the territory does not presently recognize political parties. ==voting and consensus government==  northwest territories elects members to the legislative assembly of the northwest territories under a non-partisan system known as consensus government. the election only decides who represents each district. the newly elected members of the assembly convene after the election to vote amongst themselves to decide which members become part of the executive council.making sense of consensus government cbc radio clip october 22, 1985 accessed april 13, 2006 this system of government has evolved in the northwest territories since 1870. the voting method to elect members is the first past the post electoral system. voters under this system pick the top candidate by the number of votes cast regardless of the percent of votes earned by a candidate. with a few historical exceptions all electoral districts in the northwest territories are represented by a single member. first past the post has been used since the first election in 1881. elections nwt is the independent regulatory body in charge of overseeing elections. ==history of elections==  the northwest territories has been through a number of distinct changes in how the territory is governed and how government has been selected. these changes have coincided with several major boundary changes since the government of canada acquired the territory in 1870.territorial evolution in canada accessed april 13, 2006 from 1869 to 1876 the northwest territories was run by an interim government, first led by lieutenant-governor william mcdougall, and a council appointed by ottawa. this council was governed under the temporary government of rupert's land act, 1869 and the manitoba act, 1870 the council itself sat in manitoba and was made up of members of the manitoba legislative assembly.history of northwest territories in confederation april 13, 2006 in 1876 the temporary council was dissolved and a new council was appointed under the northwest territories act. members could be elected to join the council if an area of  had 1000 inhabitants. the first such electoral districts were created in 1881.[http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/law/page.aspx?id=1458809 electoral district
Canadian_election_timelines Elections_in_the_Northwest_Territories Lists_of_elections_in_Canada Northwest_Territories-related_lists