Vote 2015: Minor parties testing candidate in most Gold Coast seats
MORE minor party candidates and independents than major party players will contest the 10 Gold Coast seats in the January 31 election.
QLD Votes
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MORE minor party candidates and independents than major party players will contest the 10 Gold Coast seats in the January 31 election.
Campaign advertising ramped up instantly online after nominations closed yesterday, with 56 candidates stepping up for the region’s electorates.
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All the seats apart from Gaven are held by the LNP Government — but their votes face erosion from the Australian Labor Party, Greens and Palmer United Party in every Gold Coast electorate.
Family First are fielding a candidate in every seat except Southport, while One Nation is also having a crack in Broadwater and Currumbin.
Five independents have also raised their hands.
The final candidate list revealed former PUP contender Ted Shepherd, who announced his plans to run for Mudgeeraba last year, had been replaced by failed 2013 federal candidate Benedict Figueroa.
Other PUP candidates include former Adelaide United and Gold Coast FC defender Kristian Rees — a candidate for Jann Stuckey’s Currumbin — and Shirley Morgan, a lawyer for Mr Palmer’s Mineralogy, who will contest Coomera.
Clive Palmer’s brother-in-law George Sokolov will take on incumbent Verity Barton in Broadwater, while his nephew Blair Brewster — who ran and failed for Forde in 2013 — will take on Albert.
Broadwater and Gaven each have seven candidates in the running, while Currumbin and Mudgeeraba have six and the other electorates five.
Voting will start today with postal votes and visitor voting at 9am, while in-person, pre-poll votes start next Monday.
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