Preselection and endorsement of a candidate

Preselection and endorsement of a candidate

A registered political party may endorse a candidate to contest a local government election.

Preselection ballots

Preselection is the process by which a political party chooses a candidate to endorse for a particular election. A preselection ballot is where members of the party vote in a poll for the purposes of preselecting a candidate for endorsement.

A party’s registered officer must give the ECQ written notice at least 7 days before voting starts in a preselection ballot for a local election.  Only parties that use preselection ballots as part, or whole, of their preselection processes need to comply with this requirement .

Notification of endorsement

Regardless of how a candidate is endorsed, the party’s registered officer must notify the ECQ of a candidate’s endorsement within 7 days. Similarly, if a party withdraws a candidate’s endorsement or changes their endorsement, the ECQ must be notified within 7 days.

Links to further information:

• Fact sheet 27 – Endorsement of candidates and preselection ballots

Forms:

• FAD2A - Endorsement of a candidate by a registered political party PDF (0.14 MB)
• FAD2B - Withdrawal of endorsement of candidate by registered political party PDF (0.14 MB)