Auckland-based human rights laywer Golriz Ghahraman has announced she wants to enter Parliament with the Greens.

OPINION: As our politicians swap out their beach towels for briefcases, the race is on to prepare for the election.

Towards the top of their to-do lists? Signing up candidates ready to deal with the months-long slog of the campaign trail, and no guarantee it will end with a shiny new seat for them.

Finding the right mix of star power and fresh blood is critical, and parties are already talking up their roster.

CHRIS MCKEEN/FAIRFAX NZ Chloe Swarbrick who came third in last year's Auckland mayoralty race, wants to become a Green MP.

NZ First leader Winston Peters has hinted at some heavy hitters being lined up to run - "You'll know who they are, they're prominent people" - while new Maori Party president Tukoroirangi Morgan has also talked of "high-profile" candidates in the wings.

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* Refugee eyes seat in Parliament with Greens

* Jo Coughlan mulling tilt at Wellington Central

* Labour lining up Greg O'Connor

However, it's the Green Party that seems to have stolen a march with its quality of candidates in the race to election day.

MONIQUE FORD / Fairfax NZ TV presenter Hayley Holt is among the high-profile potential candidates recruited by the Greens.

Human rights lawyer and former United Nations prosecutor Golriz Ghahraman spoke this week about her desire to become New Zealand's first refugee MP with the party.

With her family fleeing Iran for New Zealand when she was nine years old, Ghahraman's experience working on UN tribunals in Cambodia and Rwanda presents an impressive resume, to say the least.

Ghahraman is just the latest in a string of high-profile candidates - largely women - to put their hands up for the Greens.

KEVIN STENT Former Police Association boss Greg O'Connor may run for Labour at this year's election.

TV presenter and sportswoman Hayley Holt, Auckland mayoral candidate Chloe Swarbrick and former diplomat Leilani Tamu have all joined the party's candidate pool,

The fresh Green faces are part of the desire for change that propelled James Shaw to the co-leadership in 2015, defeating veteran MP Kevin Hague.

The party has slowly but surely moved away from its old stereotype of Morris-dancing, tree-hugging hippies, instead trying to present a younger, more professional face to the electorate.

KEVIN STENT/FAIRFAX NZ Former Wellington city councillor Jo Coughlan may join the battle to become National's candidate in Wellington Central.

However, while the Greens are well represented by Maori MPs, the other white, older faces in the caucus reveal room for improvement in terms of diversity and youth.

Ghahraman, Tamu and the others could fill those gaps - provided they can make it through the Greens' two-month ranking process, where party members decide the order of the list.

There's also the difficulty of fitting in the new candidates.

While the impending retirement of Catherine Delahunty and Steffan Browning will open up two slots, the party will need to improve its election performance markedly to bring in its promising candidates.

FORMER POLICE BOSS FOR LABOUR?

The Greens aren't the only party making interesting moves.

Labour leader Andrew Little's confirmation that former Police Association boss Greg O'Connor could run for the party, possibly in Peter Dunne's Ohariu electorate, has ruffled some feathers on the left wing.

O'Connor's hardline stance on crime and advocacy for routinely arming police will count against him with some Labour voters, and could put a spanner in the works of a deal with the Greens to take down Dunne in Ohariu.

However, with police numbers among the major political issues of 2016, even leading to rare discord within National, O'Connor could be a useful asset for Labour as it tries to outflank the Government on law and order.

For National, the new reign of Bill English - and the entirely coincidental decision of several ministers that it was the right time to leave politics - has opened up some space for fresh blood.

INTRIGUE IN WELLINGTON FOR NATS

Perhaps the greatest intrigue surrounds a selection battle in Wellington Central, with incumbent Paul Foster-Bell trying to fight off a challenge from senior Fonterra executive Nicola Willis.

Willis, who acted as a senior adviser to John Key between 2006 and 2010, is seen as a heavy hitter with a strong future within the party.

However, the rumoured candidacy of Jo Coughlan - former Wellington city councillor and the sister-in-law of the ascendant English - has added an interesting wrinkle.

Could Coughlan's familial ties now outweigh Willis's history with Key under the new PM?

With the trickle of candidate announcements set to increase to a flood as we get closer to election day, don't rule out a few more compelling candidates coming forward - Shane Jones for NZ First, anyone?