[HerenIstarion]

Deadnight Chanter
Posts: 979
council

As far as I understand, members of the white council were 6 persons ( +2 Ithryn Luin, which were absent after their trip to the East), and those were Istari adn elven Ring Bearers. Since Radagast was concerned mostly with animals, and Cirdan permanently abode at the havens, that gives us only four active official members - Galadriel, Elrond, Gandalf and Saruman. The rest was just a supporting stuff (including Chiefs of northern Dunedain), but probably they influenced the decisions that council made - the evidence is Galdariels words, when she confessed that she insisted that Gandalf would be elected the Head of the Council, but majority chose Saruman to be the leader. That means either that Gandalf himself voted for Saruman:

1 Elrond and Galadriel for for Gandalf - 2 votes
2 Radagast, Cirdan, Saruman, Gandalf - for Saruman - 4 votes

or that Elrond chose to have Saruman as a head of the council at first:

1 Galdariel and Gandlaf - Gandalf 2 votes
2 Radagast, Elrond, Saruman, Cirdan - Saruman 4 votes

There are several other possibilities too:

1 others than istari and ringbearers took part in the election sao making the majority in Saruman's favour
2 Election took place before Ithryn Luin departed to the East, and they voted for Saruman
3 Saruman was aknowledged the head of the council without elections, and the debate of changing the leader rose in the course of it's activities, and Gandalf himself out of his humility refused the proposal