The ACT Liberals are short an election candidate after John Ellingham withdrew from the line-up just two weeks after he was announced as a candidate for the October election.
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Mr Ellingham's withdrawal was announced to preselectors in his Woden-Weston seat of Murrumbidgee on Saturday.
Preselectors were expected to endorse the four remaining candidates, including Leader Jeremy Hanson and sitting parliamentarian Giulia Jones, in a vote on Saturday. The Liberals are counting on winning three of the five seats in the electorate, and will have to win three if they are to have a chance of taking government.
Mr Ellingham, an anaesthetist, is not commenting on his reasons for withdrawing and the party is saying only that it is for personal reasons.
The party has just 25 candidates for the 25 positions across Canberra so its preselection is uncontested. Mr Ellingham's spot on the Murrumbidgee ticket will remain vacant until after the federal election when the party hopes one of the federal candidates will stand for the ACT.
The other Liberals standing in Murrumbidgee are NSW public servant Paul House, a former member of the Labor Party and at one stage a sub-branch secretary, and Peter Hosking, who is a staffer for Tasmanian Senator David Bushby.
