''Anyone who believes they should be Labor leader should put themselves forward for this ballot,'' the Prime Minister said.
She said anyone who entered the ballot should commit, in the interests of the party, to resigning from parliament if they lost.
The move forces the Rudd camp to bring forward their preferred timetable for a challenge. They had hoped to engineer a special caucus meeting tomorrow and a challenge on Friday.
“I am asking my political party to endorse me as a leader and Prime Minister of purpose,'' she said