There's no denying, Emmanuel Ezekiel-Hart is a colourful character.
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Impeccably dressed, with a handful of degrees, and an enthusiasm for justice, the local lawyer-turned-political-hopeful is the only ungrouped independent candidate for the senate in the ACT - and he believes he can win.
Sitting in his living room after serving plates of his favourite stew (it's a tradition that he cooks for guests, even if it's just a reporter and a photographer), the 49-year-old says he's always found himself in representative positions - from primary school to university student councils - but never thought of taking it as far as this.
''The act of representing people has been part of me for some time,'' he says.
''Politics is part of a way of living, and there's no way we can avoid it. Ordinarily, I did not intend that I would move into this stage of politics.''
The September 7 poll will be Ezekiel-Hart's second tilt at representative politics, after an unsuccessful (but relatively impressive) bid for the ACT Legislative Assembly 11 months ago. Back then, he was the most popular ungrouped independent for the electorate of Ginninderra by a large margin - albeit with fewer than 600 votes in total against his name.
''That was a great encouragement,'' he says. ''That election was an eye-opener. It gave me the confidence that the society we have currently is strongly in need of participation.''
Ezekiel-Hart moved to Australia from Nigeria about 15 years ago, and has degrees in maritime engineering and law, including a masters from the Australian National University.
He worked for the Greens in the ACT, and has been involved with the Australian Democrats, but has ultimately contested both elections as an independent. He believes Australia needs less party politics and more fresh ideas, and he says now is the right time for independents to shine.
''It is of no use to be a senator in the parliament there and presenting only the interest of the party. That is of no use to the people. The people want to see the direct impact of your representation for them, that is the essence of their vote for you. They don't vote for the party,'' he says.
He is running the campaign largely from the living room of his small home in Weetangera, using posters taped to the sides of four-wheel-drives, and plenty of door-knocking and handing out how-to-vote cards. He says he wants to win, but the words come out with a good-natured laugh.
''One of the ways you will help society is not necessarily that you may win the election at that particular time - what matters is what you bring out and stand strongly in support [of] that will lead to the government making some certain changes that will reflect the ideas of voters, and that will serve better the community,'' he says.
''When you stay too long in parliament, you lose touch with the people that elect you. So, you need to come closer to them, and feel the pinch that they do as an ordinary citizen.''
Ezekiel-Hart is one of a few hopefuls contesting the federal election after failed bids at Legislative Assembly seats.
Others include the highly visible Liberal candidate Elizabeth Lee, who ran a well-funded ACT campaign which netted more than 4400 votes, and is now coming up against Labor's Andrew Leigh for the seat of Fraser. Two other Liberals have joined the federal fight after the ACT campaign: Tom Sefton for the seat of Canberra, and Merinda Nash running for the Senate.
Chris Bucknell is hoping for senate success for the Bullet Train Australia party, after he took out close to 1300 votes in Ginninderra for the Bullet Train party last October.
There is also lone Australian Democrats candidate Darren Churchill, who, despite a poor showing in the ACT election last year, believes the public is looking for alternatives to the major parties.
''We need a different voice representing part of the ACT. Fraser is, in many ways, seen as the more progressive of the two electorates. Yes, we are very much a Labor town and have been, but that doesn't mean it's not possible for a third party to get a look-in, in some way, and to be a voice for those that aren't represented by the three big parties,'' he says.
Churchill switched from the Senate to the seat of Fraser after he was left with no viable running mates for an upper-house ticket - and was faced with the prospect of a huge 27-candidate field, compared with just nine in 2010.
According to John Wanna, a professor of politics at the ANU, the ACT's Senate result could be one of the more fascinating to watch after the polls close.
''The senate could be the interesting election [in the ACT]. You've got the Greens running a high-profile candidate, they've always had ambitions,'' he says. ''The interest now is, I suppose, can the Greens do better than the Liberals.''
Wanna says preferences will play a big part in the election, not just in the ACT Senate, but also in many marginal seats around the nation. He believes the high number of upper-house candidates, as seen in the ACT, can be attributed in part to ''feeder'' and ''spoiler'' candidates who look to snare votes away from one party and funnel them through preferences in other directions.
''It's more of an orchestrated campaign to soak up the micro-votes. You can get a few thousands votes and still get up to half a quota with picking up everybody else's preferences, as long as you finish a little bit in front of everybody finishing behind you,'' Wanna says.
But this doesn't apply to all candidates, and Wanna says some are genuinely interested in raising their own profiles, or elevating specific issues into the political spotlight - especially when it comes to those who also ran in the territory election in 2012.
And then there are others, such as Ezekiel-Hart (who Wanna knows through community circles), who seem to be trying to give a voice to often unheard sectors of the local community.
''He's a community person, he's not a political kind of guy,'' Wanna says.
Ezekiel-Hart says he'll keep using this campaign to raise issues around education, jobs, and health, but is coy on any potential future in politics.
''When I discuss with people they feel very much appreciative of my involvement, and give me the encouragement to actually go ahead,'' he says. ''If in the event I don't win, then it becomes a profile builder for when I actually have a stable party to join to contest.''