IN a major political blunder, One Nation has failed to register for the next South Australian election and will not contest any seats.

According to a report in The Australian, One Nation had confirmed it had missed its chance to contest the election, due on March 17, 2018. Leader Pauline Hanson had predicted they would be a major player.

media_camera Pauline Hanson’s One Nation missed the deadline to register for the SA election. AAP image John Gass)

Under South Australia’s Electoral Act, parties must register six months before a state election to be eligible for consideration and that crucial cut-off was on Friday.

One Nation, which will be a key participant in the Queensland poll, had expected to field “dozens of candidates” and hoped its strong performance in the last year’s federal election would give it a bold showing in SA.

But with no One Party candidates, it leaves the door open for Nick Xenophon’s new SA Best Party and Cory Bernardi’s Australian Conservatives.

A statement on the One Nation website stated: “We are currently not registered to contest territory elections in South Australia, however we would love to.”