By Shelby Brooks and Marcus Uhe
Incumbent federal member for La Trobe Jason Wood will be top of the ballot when voters head to the polls next month.
It comes as candidate nominations came to a close on Thursday 21 April before the Declaration of Nominees on Friday 22 April.
Liberal MP Mr Wood drew the highest place on the election ballot voting card from the eight named candidates for the seat of La Trobe, giving him a significant advantage in his quest to win the seat for a sixth time in the Federal Election on 21 May.
Mr Wood will face seven challengers for the seat he first won in 2004 and in last Friday’s ballot draw secured the prized number one spot, ahead of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation candidate Hadden Ervin and Greens candidate and past Cardinia Shire councillor Michael Schilling.
Labor candidate Abhimanyu Kumar drew fifth place in the ballot.
The number one spot is considered an advantage in that it secures the donkey vote, where preferences are recorded by disenfranchised or disinterested voters by simply following the order in which the candidates appear on the ballot paper.
The other candidates (in ballot order) are Hadden Ervin of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Michael Schilling of The Australian Greens, Merryn Mott of United Australia Party, Abhimanyu (Abi) Kumar of the Australian Labor Party, Rebecca Skinner of Australian Federation Party, Michael Abelman of Liberal Democratic Party and Helen Jeges of Animal Justice Party.
Mr Wood was elected as La Trobe MP in 2004 and was returned in 2007. He was defeated by Labor candidate Laura Smyth in the 2010 general election, but won the seat back in 2013 and held it again in the 2016 and 2019 elections.
In neighbouring Holt, independent candidate Ravi Ragupathy topped the ballot paper.
Eight candidates will also contest the seat of Holt, which has been vacated by the retiring Anthony Byrne MP, after 22 years as the sitting member.
Labor’s Cassandra Fernando received second place, while Ranj Perera from the Liberal party has the final place on the ballot.
The candidates in order of the ballot are as follows; independent Ravi Ragupathy, Cassandra Fernando of Australian Labor Party, Gerardine Hansen of United Australia Party, Sandy Ambard of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Gregory Saldana of Australian Federation Party, Matthew Nunez-Silva of Liberal Democrats, Sujit Mathew of The Australian Greens and Ranj Perera of Liberal Party of Australia.
While in Julian Hill’s seat of Bruce, five challengers will look to break a 26-year Labor stronghold.
Christine Skrobo, representing the Liberal Democrat Party, is first on the ballot paper, followed by Matt Babet from the United Australia Party, Hayley Deans from Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Mr Hill, Liberal’s James Moody and The Greens’ Matthew Kirwan.
The Bruce electorate encompasses the suburbs of Hallam, Endeavour Hills, Doveton, Narre Warren, Narre Warren North and parts of Dandenong, Narre Warren South, Berwick and Harkaway.
