IT will be a tussle to the finish for several mayoral hopefuls in North Queensland, with preliminary counting in the local government elections now underway.
It's a tight race in the Mareeba Shire Council, with barely 0.1 per cent separating the two contenders, current sitting councillors Edward (Nipper) Brown and Angela Toppin.
With 12.5 per cent of the vote counted, preliminary results show Cr Brown is just 16 votes ahead of Cr Toppin, with him receiving 871 or 50.46 per cent of the vote to her 855, or 49.54 per cent.
The two councillors are going head to head in the Mareeba Shire, which was reestablished in 2014 after residents voted to reverse the council amalgamations, following Mayor Tom Gilmore's decision to step down.
Further south in the Cassowary Coast a three-way race is playing out, with recontesting first term mayor John Kremastos trailing behind his two opponents.
With 16.83 per cent of the vote counted, Bryce Macdonald is in the lead with 1246 votes, or 39.69 per cent.
Close behind is (Timothy) Mark Nolan on 1132 or 36.06 per cent, another sitting councillor who has contested the top job.
Cr Kremastos is trailing behind holding 24.24 per cent, or 761 individual votes.
Likewise in the Douglas Shire which is headquarted in Mossman, recontesting Mayor Julia Leu is trailing behind her opponent, current sitting councillor Michael Kerr.
With 8.07 per cent of the vote counted, Cr Kerr has edged ahead with 358 votes, or 55.59 per cent, to Cr Leu's 286 votes or 44.41 per cent.
On the Burdekin, current Mayor Lyn McLaughlin has a comfortable early lead over her two contenders.
Cr McLaughlin holds just over 50 per cent of the vote, with 16.38 per cent of the vote counted.
She has 970 individual votes, with Pierina Dalle Court in second with 559 votes or 29.19 per cent. Larry Bradford is trailing with 386 votes, or 20.16 per cent.
Cr McLaughlin is seeking reelection in the position as mayor for a fourth term.
Cr McLaughlin served as mayor of Burdekin Shire Council from 2004 to 2012, before Bill Lowis won the position.
Cr McLaughlin was reinstated as mayor at the 2016 local government election. She had previously served six years as a councillor from 1994 to 2000.
Croydon Shire Council Mayor Trevor Pickering, who has been mayor since 2012, is out in from with 70.06 per cent of the preliminary vote counted.
He had 74 votes to Patrick Wheeler's 42, though given the remote and expansive area, a lot of votes are likely to be postal.
And in regional powerhouse Townsville, the region's key export hub, current Mayor Jenny Hill has a comfortable early lead over her three opponents.
Cr Hill, who lead the city through the 2019 monsoon flood event, has so far secured 51.82 per cent of the vote, though only 3.81 per cent has been counted.
She has 2426 votes, with former LNP Thuringowa MP Sam Cox in second place with 1209 votes, or 25.82 per cent of the vote.
Former rugby league player Greg Dowling, who accepted a large donation from a company owned by Clive Palmer to boost his campaign, has 737 votes, or 15.74 per cent, while Woodstock resident Chris Eastaughffe has 310 votes or 6.26 per cent.
Current sitting Cairns Mayor Bob Manning, who has held the position since 2012 is also maintaining a significant early lead on his three contenders.
Cr Manning has 71.01 per cent of the vote or 3917 votes, with 4.62 per cent counted.
Georgia Babatsikos has 515 votes, 11.44 per cent, Jeanette Sackley has 501, 11.13 per cent and Ian Lydiard has 289, or 6.42 per cent.
At 9pm on Saturday night, the Electoral Commission of Queensland had not commenced counting for other local government areas in the north including the north west shires of Charters Towers, Flinders and McKinlay.
In the Gulf country, results are yet to come in for Etheridge and Carpentaria.
In the remote Burke Shire, Ernie Camp was reinstated for another term unopposed.
In the Far North, results are yet to come in for Cook and Tablelands.
Other northern mayors to be reinstated unopposed include Hinchinbrook Mayor Ramon Jayo, Whitsunday Mayor Andrew Willcox and Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson.