Three Liberal candidates dumped from party two days into the campaign

Questions about eligibility under Section 44  have forced the Liberal Party to relinquish three of its preselected candidates in Melbourne just as the election campaign begins.

The party's candidate for the marginal north suburban Labor seat of Wills, Vaishali Ghosh, was forced to step aside over her Indian heritage, while Kate Oski, Liberal candidate for the safe western suburbs Labor seat of Lalor, had to resign because she may be able to claim Polish citizenship through her father.

Helen Jackson, the Liberals' candidate for Cooper (formerly known as Batman), was asked to resign from the contest because she is an Australia Post employee, but she has refused and will soon be disendorsed, Liberal sources say.

Working as a public servant may compromise a candidate's eligibility, according to Section 44 of the Australian Constitution.

The party is scrambling to find new candidates ahead of the close of nominations on April 23, and will need to double-check the eligibility status of their other candidates ahead of the election on May 18.

Future MPs and senators are required to state the place and date of birth of themselves and their parents, and details of renunciation of foreign citizenship.

The constitutional crisis badly damaged the 45th parliament with 17 senators and MPs resigning over their dual citizenship statuses, obliging high-profile politicians such as Barnaby Joyce, John Alexander and David Feeney to resign and recontest their seats in by-elections.

Kate Oski has been dumped by the Liberal party. Credit: Facebook

A Liberal Party spokesman said the candidates had "voluntarily withdrawn" ahead of the election.

“The party’s vetting process identified there was a possibility neither would meet strict citizenship requirements under section 44 of the Australian Constitution in time for close of nominations," he said.

“We thank our outgoing candidates and are in the process of identifying new candidates for Lalor and Wills.”

Cooper, Lalor and Wills are not winnable seats for the Liberals but party sources said on Friday that replacement candidates will be drafted in for both electorates in time for the close of nominations on April 23.

Liberal preferences could prove influential in the Wills contest, where sitting Labor MP Peter Khalil is threatened by the Greens' Adam Pulford.

The Liberal Party does not check the citizenship credentials of its candidates until after the preselection have closed, so vetting of other candidates is still underway, so there may be more Section 44 problems before the election.

Ms Oski is the daughter of Gayle Murphy, who has previously run as a candidate for the seat of Lalor and the state seat of Werribee, and may step in to run again.

The 22-year-old was working at the conservative think-tank Institute of Public Affairs as a campus coordinator until February, where she "hosted events, published commentary and helped build networks with like-minded organisations on campus".