The Fannie Bay by-election has been set for August 20, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has determined, which will see a new member elected before the next Parliamentary sittings.

Ms Fyles met with the Administrator this morning to ask her to issue the writ.

The by-election is necessary following the resignation of former chief minister Michael Gunner who announced he was leaving NT politics after 14 years as the Member for Fannie Bay in Parliament on Wednesday night.

Both Labor and the CLP are currently seeking candidates, with Ms Fyles saying she wouldn’t be speculating on who Labor’s candidate will be.

CLP president Fiona Darcy said in a statement Wednesday night that the party had been “enthusiastically approached by various community leaders, local professionals, and small business owners canvassing interest in running as our candidate”.

Ms Darcy said nominations for the party’s candidate will close at midnight on Sunday July 31 and a decision made some time after that.

Mr Gunner was first elected as the Member for Fannie Bay in 2008, narrowly defeating Gary Lambert of the CLP by just 78 votes, following former Labor chief minister Clare Martin’s retirement.

In 2016, the electorate gave him strong support with an easy win over the CLP by 29 points, enroute to the party’s strongest election victory across the NT. However, at the 2020 election, Mr Gunner saw an 8.2 per cent swing against him, although he still easily defeated CLP candidate Tracey Hayes.

The seat was held by former CLP chief minister Marshall Perron before Clare Martin.

The electorate covers Fannie Bay, Parap, Ludmilla, The Narrows, The Gardens and a small part of Stuart Park. There were 5,473 enrolled voters at the 2020 general election.