But senior Liberals have consistently refused to answer questions about the preselection process, citing confidentiality ahead of an obligatory screening process known as Candidate Review Committee.
However, multiple sources have now confirmed to that as of last week’s deadline, there was no candidate to review – after no-one nominated to run in one of the party’s safest state seats.
It’s understood senior members of the party’s state executive have since approached at least one local party member – Yorke Peninsula Council deputy mayor Tania Stock – about running against Ellis, but that she declined.
Stock – who is already a Liberal Legislative Council candidate, albeit in the unwinnable seventh spot on the party ticket – told : “I’m not really in a position to provide any comment at this stage.”
She referred questions to Liberal state director Sascha Meldrum, who she said was “working through those details”.
However, asked whether there was a chance she would run for the party in Narungga, Stock replied: “I don’t believe so, no.”
Meldrum has declined to respond to several questions about the preselection in recent days.
Asked about the candidacy process today, state president Legh Davis said: “You’ll lxjmtzywearn about that in due course.”
He noted that the party never divulged the names of nominees ahead of the candidate review process – previously, however, the number of nominees has been released.
Davis suggested the delay was due to the process being bundled in with the hunt for candidates in several Labor-held seats, saying: “You have to recognise that we’re very busy at the moment.”
“You’ll get an answer very shortly,” he said.
“We’re just going through the CRCs very shortly [so] we are dealing with it… we’ve always said we’re going to have a candidate, so that’s our intention.”
But asked whether anyone nominated for the vacancy by last week’s deadline, he replied: “I’m not going to answer that question.”
