Edinburgh transport convener bidding to be Labour candidate at next year's Scottish Parliament elections
Edinburgh council's Labour transport convener Stephen Jenkinson is bidding to stand for election to the Scottish Parliament.
And he will be up against Lothian list MSP Foysol Choudhury in the battle to become the male candidate for either Edinburgh Northern or Edinburgh South Western in next year's Holyrood elections.
Under the party's system to achieve gender balance, the two seats have been twinned. Together, the local parties will vote to select one man and one woman - and whoever gets the most votes chooses which seat they stand in.
There is a shortlist of two men and two women. Cllr Jenkinson and Mr Choudhury will go head to head for the male nomination.
Cllr Jenkinson took over as the Capital's transport convener a year ago, replacing Scott Arthur who won Edinburgh South West for Labour at the general election, helped by Cllr Jenkinson who acted as his election agent.
Mr Choudhury was elected as a Lothian Labour MSP at the last Scottish Parliament elections in 2021.
And the contest to be the female candidate is between local activist Rebecca Bell and Catriona Munro, who stood in the recent Fountainbridge / Craiglockhart council by-election, coming top in first preferences but narrowly losing to the Lib Dems when votes were redistributed.
The selection process is due to be completed in the week beginning August 11.