Early voting is set to open in the Fannie Bay by-election in the Northern Territory with six candidates vying for the prized Darwin seat.
The last three MPs to hold Fannie Bay have all served as NT chief minister, including Labor's Michael Gunner who announced his plan to retire in May.
The Country Liberal Party's Marshall Perron first took the seat in 1983 after his previous electorate of Stuart Park was abolished in a redistribution.
He went on to become chief minister in 1988, serving until 1995 when he quit parliament as it began debating voluntary euthanasia laws, something he strongly supported.
Labor's Clare Martin then surprisingly won the seat in a by-election before going on to become opposition leader in 1999 and chief minister when the ALP won office in 2001.
Ms Martin served until 2007 and quit politics at the 2008 election when Mr Gunner retained the seat for Labor.
After Labor lost office in 2012, Mr Gunner became opposition leader in 2015 and chief minister from 2016 when the party won with a convincing majority.
He stepped down in May this year, after leading Labor to another win in 2020 despite the loss of four seats.
In the August 20 by-election, Labor's Brent Potter has drawn the top spot on the ballot paper, with his main rival, Ben Hosking from the CLP, in the sixth spot.
Three independents will also contest the poll, George Mamouzellos, Raj Samson Rajwin, and Leah Potter, along with Greens candidate Jonathan Parry.
Mr Potter is an army veteran and father of four who has most recently worked as a government adviser.
Mr Hosking is a small business owner and former police officer.
Early votes from Monday can be cast at the Northern Territory Electoral Commission office in Mitchell Street in Darwin.
The commission will also start mailing out postal ballots this week.
About 5400 people are enrolled to vote in Fannie Bay.
