Nominations for preselection close on October 5, after being extended from September 21.

A meeting will be held on November 3 to select the party’s next candidate to stand for Cowper following the retirement of sitting member Luke Hartsuyker.

Questions were raised by Labor candidate Andrew Woodward earlier this week about the decision to extend the closing date for nominees. He claimed The Nationals were unable to find suitable candidates to replace Mr Hartsuyker who has held the seat of Cowper for the last 17 years.

A Nationals spokesperson said the extension of date was an “administrative matter” with other more pressing community announcements such as the preferred route for the Coffs Harbour bypass taking priority.

The party spokesperson would not confirm how many candidates they had secured to date or the breakdown of men to women.