In Gungahlin, the left faction has turned the tables by putting right winger Michael Pettersson top of its ticket, giving him the left's first preferences.

The reasons appear to be twofold – Mr Pettersson works for the left union, the CFMEU, which wields considerable power in the faction, and the left's only candidate in the seat, Susanne Orr, doesn't need the votes, since she is guaranteed a place on the ticket under affirmative action rules as one of only two women.

The fate of Jayson Hinder (R) is also being closely watched in Gungahlin. If Mary Porter leaves before the next election, as she has suggested she might, depending on her health, Mr Hinder is next in line to take her seat. But if he doesn't get preselected in voting over the coming week, he would be in the unhelpful position of being a sitting politician not able to stand in the 2016 election.

With Meegan Fitzharris (R), Deepak Raj Gupta (U), Michael Pettersson (R) and Susanne Orr (L) expected to win a spot, there is only one left for the four contenders, including Mr Hinder. But perhaps Mr Pettersson's place at the top of the left ticket helps here, since it means the right can safely direct votes to Mr Hinder.

The other seat being watched carefully is Murrumbidgee, covering Woden-Weston, which has a field of nine contesting the five positions. It is the only seat without a sitting parliamentarian, after preselection jockeying resulted in deputy Chief Minister Simon Corbell deciding to leave politics after being put last on the left ticket.

The left has now put its two candidates, Rebecca Cody and Jo Chivers, No. 1 and No. 2, then the unaligned Mark Kulasingham in third spot. It has put the right's Chris Steel fourth.

The left requires members of the faction to vote according to its instructions (and has "show and tell" with ballot papers to make sure) so its ticket is influential among the perhaps one-quarter of the votes it controls in the seat.

The decision to put Mr Kulasingham in third place is viewed as a way of boosting Ms Chivers' chances of getting preselected alongside Ms Cody by minimising votes for the other women, Brianna Heseltine (U) and Jennifer Newman (R). Affirmative action guarantees two women in each seat, no matter what the vote. Mr Kulasingham appears already to have secured a healthy pile of votes, and Ms Heseltine is viewed with nervousness by the factions for her uncompromising style. ALso unaligned is John Sherborne.

The other three candidates are all members of the right faction: Brendan Long, Bernard Philbrick and Chris Steel. While the right is not suggesting an order for its candidates this year, leaving results unpredictable, the frontrunners are Mr Steel, who works for Early Childhood Australia, and is a former staffer for Kate Ellis and Joel Fitzgibbon, and Mr Long, an economist and committed catholic who has worked for right factional heavyweights federally including Stephen Conroy, Joel Fitzgibbon and Joe Ludwig.

There are only 114 eligible voters in the seat, meaning hopefuls can contact them all personally in the lead-up.

Also sparking talk is left-faction Katy Gallagher's decision to endorse Ms Chivers and Ms Drake, rather than the lead left-wingers in the seats, but Senator Gallagher said she had supported every candidate who had asked her – including Rachel Steven-Smith (L) and Gordon Ramsay (U).

Party members can vote only in their electorate – so there are effectively five separate preselections, one for each of the electorates. Labor secretary Matt Byrne says more than 600 party members across the ACT are eligible to vote.

The candidates and their factions: