Mr Suvaal, a first-term councillor who was installed as deputy to retiring mayor Bob Pynsent in August, was leading the first preference count at 10am Tuesday with 42.14 per cent of the vote.

Independent candidate Ian Olsen was in second place with 27.32 per cent, followed by the Liberals' John Moores (18.3 per cent) and the Greens' Janet Murray (12.25 per cent).

READ MORE: As it happened: Election day across Newcastle and the Hunter

Labor's primary vote so far is down about three per cent compared to the 2016 election, while there has been a swing of about the same amount towards the Greens.

The Liberal vote is down by about one per cent, while the total independent vote has increased by about one per cent since 2016 (when two independent candidates ran for mayor, picking up 11 and 15 per cent).

The votes counted so far only include those cast on Saturday, with pre-poll, postal and online voting still to come.

Cr Suvaal hadn't yet declared victory, but said the result was promising so far.

"We're not quite there yet, but things are looking positive," he said.

"I'm really excited, and I want to thank everyone for their support.

"I'm looking forward to working with all of the newly-elected councillors to achieve some great things for our community."

A 36-year-old father-of-two, Mr Suvaal would become one of the youngest mayors in Cessnock's history.

The makeup of the wards is not finalised, but if Mr Suvaal wins the mayoral vote, his running mate James Hawkins - who previously served on council from 2008 to 2016 - will be elected to Ward A.

Liberal councillor Paul Dunn looks as though he will retain his seat in Ward A with 21.63 per cent of the votes counted so far, and will most likely be joined by independent candidate Jessica Jurd, who had 27.30 per cent.

Two-term Ward A independent Allan Stapleford appears to have lost his seat after running as an ungrouped (below the line) candidate, gaining just over six per cent of the vote.

Mr Olsen (32.01 per cent) and Labor's Anthony Burke (41.54 per cent) have likely secured seats in Ward B, with the third position shaping up as a tight contest between Liberal candidate John Moores (18.56 per cent) and Mr Burke's second, Jeffrey Crebert - with 0.08 quota points between the two as of Tuesday morning.

Labor's Anne Sander is set to be returned to Ward C with 43.16 per cent of the votes counted so far, and the Liberals' Karen Jackson also looks likely to be elected with 25.16 per cent.

The third seat in Ward C will be contested between independent candidate Daniel Watton and Labor's number two, Sophie Palmowski, with Mr Watton leading by 0.12 quota points on Tuesday morning.

Labor had strong support in Ward D with 48.94 per cent of the votes counted so far. With a quota of 1.96, lead candidate Rosa Grine and running mate Mitchell Hill are both poised to secure seats. Independent candidate Paul Paynter has 20.68 per cent (a quota of 0.83), putting him 0.1 quota points in front of the Liberals' Harry Slade (18.28 per cent).

Informal/other votes were high across the wards, with 22.58 per cent in Ward A, 19.04 per cent in Ward B, 19.86 per cent in Ward C and 16.77 per cent in Ward D.

The return of completed postal votes closes on December 17, and the check count will be completed the following day, with distribution of preferences to start the following week. Polls could be declared as late as December 23.