Retired Major-General Jim Molan could be a step closer to entering federal Parliament as the Australian Electoral Commission completes a special recount to replace former minister Fiona Nash.
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The author of the Abbott government's hardline boat turnback policy and former commander of allied troops in Iraq ran in the unwinnable seventh place on the Coalition's NSW senate ticket at the 2016 election.
General Molan - who lives on a rural property in Royalla, near the ACT-NSW border - wouldn't comment on Tuesday.
Liberal Hollie Hughes had been set to take the seat but the High Court ruled she was not eligible to replace the former Nationals deputy leader after being appointed by the government to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal following her election loss.
The Australian Electoral Commission is due to conduct the recount on Wednesday, which ABC election analyst Antony Green said was likely to see General Molan elected.
But the outcome isn't guaranteed.
Who becomes the replacement senator could hinge on whether Ms Hughes was capable of being chosen for the seat under section 44 of the constitution.
Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue told the court on Monday he was acting on the "assumption" that Ms Hughes was "not capable of being chosen".
However, Dr Donaghue said if the court's final reasons for blocking Ms Hughes was because she was "capable of being chosen but not capable of sitting" the open seat would instead become a casual vacancy, with convention suggesting the position would be filled by the Nationals, instead of the Liberals.
The special count will see voter preferences for candidates Ms Nash and Ms Hughes disregarded and a new distribution of preferences take place.
The Australian Electoral Officer for NSW will then return the result to the High Court for its consideration.
General Molan had been considering a run against fellow veteran and Labor incumbent Mike Kelly in the onetime bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott described his 2016 loss as a "tragedy for our country" and the Liberal Party.
The pair are close allies and campaigned together for changes to the NSW Liberal Party's preselection rules.
After he was pushed down the Senate ticket, General Molan shared a tweet critical of the Liberal Party.
"NSW Liberals are a dumpster fire of factional muppets that put General Jim Molan at no 7," the tweet said.
Nationals had been working on a secret plan to parachute Ms Nash back into the Senate, based on legal advice about Ms Hughes' eligibility from barrister Bret Walker SC.
Ms Nash, architect of the National Party-led push for forced moves of government departments from Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne to the regions, was declared a British citizen in October, ending her 12-year parliamentary career.
The Turnbull government is currently considering submissions from portfolio areas facing decentralisation moves, despite Ms Nash and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce being removed from Parliament.
Acting Regional Development Minister Darren Chester said last month the moves were a key Coalition policy that was supported by cabinet, with the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development leading implementation efforts.
with AAP
