Five names have been shortlisted alongside the Welsh assembly's deputy presiding officer John Marek in an open contest to choose a Labour candidate for Wrexham in the next assembly election.

The local Labour party decided not to automatically select Dr Marek as the candidate after he was accused of making comments that undermined the party.

Selection shortlist

Dr John Marek Ted George Leslie Griffiths Nigel Jones Carol Hughes Ray Large

Applicants had until Friday to register their intention to stand for selection as Labour's candidate.

Dr Marek faces a full reselection battle after he failed in a re-nomination ballot by 13 votes to 10.

As the sitting AM for Wrexham, he was automatically included on the shortlist, which also features Ted George the leader of the employer's side in the firefighters pay dispute.

He agreed to seek re-nomination to avoid an inquiry into his conduct after complaints from Labour Party members.

However, he lost out when five out of six local party branches voted not to re-endorse him as their candidate for the assembly polls in May.

Seventeen affiliated union branches voted by nine to eight in his favour but it was not enough to secure the automatic nomination.

Dr Marek will fight to represent Wrexham

A Labour Party spokeswoman said it will be up to the Wrexham members of the Labour Party to decide on their preferred candidate for the Assembly elections.

"There will be hustings on February 21 and 22 and it's a one member one vote (OMOV) secret ballot.

"The result will be announced on the Saturday after the votes are counted in front of the candidates," she said.

Dr Marek, who has been MP and then AM for Wrexham for nearly 20 years, has disagreed with members of the Welsh Labour Party in the past.

Complaints

Last year, a disciplinary hearing was due to hear complaints from Labour councillors in Wrexham claiming that he had brought the party into disrepute.

Authority members said they were concerned that Dr Marek "criticised" a lot of the council's decisions.

Most recently he angered Welsh Labour Party members when he wrote to the Communications Workers' Union suggesting they should not give the party money if they did not like its policies.

Dr Marek realised he would be forced to stand against other members of the party for official nomination after he lost the reselection vote in December.