Orange councillor Tony Mileto and Parkes candidate Yvette Quinn were due to vie for preselection on Sunday, but the vote was called off.

Cr Mileto confirmed a paperwork error occurred when he wrote ‘Nil’ in the section asking whether the council nominee was a member of a political party and the name of the party.

Cr Mileto said it was an honest error because he was endorsed to run for the council by the Orange Residents and Ratepayers Association (ORRA), not The Nationals.

He was president of ORRA at the time and fellow members ran on his ticket. 

“They’re not a political party and I assumed that carried through,” he said. 

Cr Mileto said he became aware of the problem on Friday afternoon and immediately contacted the NSW Electoral Commission to correct it.

He also sought legal advice, which confirmed the error would not have any bearing on his eligibility as a councillor, nor for The Nationals’ state preselection. 

“Having now received that advice, I am satisfied the way is clear for me to contest preselection and if successful, to concentrate fully on convincing the electors of Orange to vote for The Nationals in 2019,” he said.

“It’s up to [state office] to find a new date.”

Despite rumours within the party Agriculture Minister Niall Blair might move to Millthorpe to contest the lower house seat, a spokeswoman said he had no intention of doing so, having already lodged his nomination forms for the upper house preselection in April.