Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will formally announce Mary Doyle as Labor’s candidate for the byelection in the marginal seat of Aston on Friday morning.

Nominations for potential Labor candidates for the seat are due to close on Thursday afternoon and Doyle – who slashed outgoing MP Alan Tudge’s margin from 10.1 per cent to just 2.8 per cent in the May 2022 election – is the only nominee.

Doyle is a breast cancer survivor, mother of three and former union official with the National Tertiary Education Union and the Australian Council of Trade Unions who currently works for super fund HESTA.

Labor is hopeful of claiming the seat and increasing its one-seat majority in the House of Representatives but on Tuesday, Albanese told the Labor caucus that an incumbent government had not won a seat from the opposition at a byelection since 1920.

The Liberal administration committee is also due to meet on Thursday evening to consider nominations and the party is likely to proceed with a rank and file pre-selection unless the date of the byelection is set for late March or early April.

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Prominent oncologist and Guardian columnist Ranjana Srivastava will be among those running to be the Liberal Party candidate for the seat, vacated by Tudge last week.

Former premier Jeff Kennett is supporting Srivastava’s candidacy.

On Wednesday, barrister Roshena Campbell confirmed she would also put her hand up. Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg backs Campbell. Both Campbell and Srivastava have Indian heritage.

Cathrine Burnett-Wake, a former state MP, has also put her name forward.

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