ACT speaker Joy Burch has survived another tough preselection battle, amid a push for "fresh faces" from some in the Labor Party.
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Planning Minister Mick Gentleman and Ms Burch were among seven candidates to nominate for a spot on Labor's ticket in Brindabella.
It was the only seat to gain enough nominees to go to a ballot, with Murrumbidgee even having to extend its nomination period to field five candidates.
While results are yet to be confirmed, it's understood unaligned candidate Taimus Werner-Gibbings was miles ahead of any other, scoring 46 first preference votes.
Mr Gentleman was second with 28 first preference votes.
![ACT speaker Joy Burch. Picture: Elesa Kurtz ACT speaker Joy Burch. Picture: Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc75ccsi3nyev18bwxl2qi.jpg/r0_74_3339_2322_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
According to Labor sources, Joy Burch was fourth after first preferences - scoring 18 votes behind fellow right aligned candidate Brendan Forde - but third after preferences were distributed.
Unaligned candidate Cathy Day - who scored five first preference votes - rounded out the successful five candidates.
Right aligned nurse Shane Carter and left aligned Leah Dwyer were both unsuccessful. 139 of the seat's 189 eligible voters voted in the preselection ballot.
Labor's affirmative action rules mean at least two successful candidates must be women.
Ms Burch, who resigned from Andrew Barr's frontbench amid controversy in 2016, has already stared down a challenge from within her own Labor faction.
The Canberra Times understands Labor's right faction members met last month to vote on whether to endorse Ms Burch's candidacy.
Despite her seniority within the party and faction, Ms Burch only narrowly secured the backing of members. ACT Labor Secretary Matt Byrne said candidates would be formally endorsed later this week.
"We have a very strong ticket, we have candidates from a broad range of experiences and backgrounds who reflect the Canberra community," he said. He said he wasn't fazed by the lack of interest from candidates in the other four seats, saying it was to be expected considering the greater number of incumbents compared to the 2016 election.