(a)
(1) A mayor of a city of the first class having a mayor-council form of government shall be elected:
(A) By a majority vote of the qualified electors of the city; or
(B) In accordance with § 7-5-106.
(2) This section does not apply to a city of the first class with a city manager form of government or a city administrator form of government.
(b)
(1) As soon as the returns from all precincts are received, but no later than the fifteenth day after the election, the county board of election commissioners shall proceed to ascertain, from the certificates and ballots received from the several precincts, and declare the result of the election and deliver a certificate of his or her election to any person having the requisite amount of legal votes for the office of mayor.
(2) The county board of election commissioners shall also file in the office of the clerk of the county court a certificate setting forth in detail the results of the election.
(c)
(1) If no candidate for mayor of a city of the first class receives the requisite amount of the votes cast in the general election, the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be certified to a special runoff election that shall be held four (4) weeks from the day on which the general election is held.
(2) The special runoff election shall be conducted in the same manner as provided by law, and the election results of the special runoff election shall be canvassed and certified in the manner provided by law.
(d) If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor of a city described in this section and the unexpired term is more than one (1) year, the vacancy shall be filled by a special election and special runoff election, if necessary, as provided in subsection (c) of this section.