While it has been 12 years – or three council elections – since the shire has boasted such a big community representation, it’s certainly not the first time for the area.

A look back on previous council elections, the 2004 Parkes Shire Council election consisted of 20 candidates.

But dropped back to 18 candidates in 2008 and even less – to 12 candidates – in 2012.

The 1999 election had 14 candidates.

Compared to neighbouring shire councils – such as Forbes, Lachlan, Weddin, Cowra, Bland, Bogan, Narromine and Lithgow – that will be going to the polls on September 10, Parkes comes in at second highest behind Lithgow, which will see an option of 47 candidates for ratepayers to choose from.

However Lithgow has an estimated population size of more than 21,000 people.

But Forbes and Bland councils – with populations of more than 9000 and 5800 respectively – impressively have 17 candidates.

Weddin, Narromine and Bogan have 14 candidates, and Cowra has 12 standing.

The Lachlan Shire Council is one of 57 of the 152 NSW councils divided into wards, having five wards with a total of 14 candidates, each a stand-alone election.

According to NSW Electoral Commission spokesperson Richard Carroll, having 20 candidates isn’t unusual for a town the size of Parkes, with a shire population of more than 15,000.

He said the number of people enrolled to vote in the Parkes Shire – being 10,698 – was similar to that of the Yass Valley Council (11,626) and Inverell Shire Council (11,953).

And both boasted 32 candidates (Yass) and 20 (Inverell) this election.

Mr Carroll said that having 20 candidates suggested there was a healthy interest in community democracy in Parkes.

Pre-poll voting will begin on Monday, August 29 in the Coventry Room at the Parkes Cultural Centre in Bogan Street and ends 6pm Friday, September 9.

People can apply online for a postal vote at www.votensw.info or by calling 1300 135 736. With twice the number of candidates than there are spaces available on the council, people’s preferential votes are more important than ever. Turn to pages 22 and 23 for a profile of each candidate standing in the Parkes Council election.