THE Liberal Party have preselected public sector strategist and lawyer Gisele Kapterian to run for the federal seat of Bradfield.
Up against anti-Voice activist and Indigenous businessman Warren Mundine, Kapterian secured her ticket at the preselection on Saturday despite the efforts from conservative Liberals and Tony Abbott to shoehorn Mundine into the politically sensitive spot.
With 207 votes to Mundine’s 171, Kapterian is now set to face off against Independent Nicolette Boele in the upcoming federal election.
Winning against Boele in 2021 by the skin of his teeth, previous Member for Bradfield Paul Fletcher resigned from politics in December. Fletcher’s resignation left the door open for a new Liberal candidate to try to readjust the sails and prevent the snatching of another traditionally Liberal seat by a teal.
‘I’m excited to represent this community and I’ll be hitting the ground running… let’s get Australia back on track,’ said Gisele Kapterian in a social media post following the preselection.
Independent challenger Boele released a statement congratulating Kapterian, ‘The decisions made by both major parties over decades have created rising bills, a housing crisis, and a supermarket shop that’s become far too expensive. We are a great country, but the major party duopoly is holding us back.’