By PETER ROWE

The failed Voice referendum is to blame for the low Indigenous turnout for the NT elections at the weekend, according NT Election Commission chief Kirsten Kelly.

Feedback from the elections included voter fatigue and general apathy as a result of the failure of the referendum last October.

“While there are still ballot papers to be included in the count, the turnout number will be lower than in previous elections,” she said.

Labor’s Dheran Young, who held onto his seat of Daly, told the ABC he believed “people are still hurting from the referendum result, and definitely feel their voices aren’t valued”.

Leader Lia Finocchiaro arrives at the Country Liberal Party celebration site following the Northern Territory elections.

“It had a huge impact on voter turnout,” he said.

“There’s less confidence in the political system now.”

Engagement teams spent five months traversing the Territory educating voters across 70 communities, including providing resources in Indigenous languages.

But the turnout was lower than in previous elections.

Less than 45 per cent of enrolled voters across the ‘bush’ electorates voted.

This compares to a 65 per cent turnout in 2020.