A candidate has been chosen through a new open primary system to fight a north east seat for the Scottish Conservatives in the next general election.
Following the event in Aboyne on Sunday, local businessman Alexander Burnett will be the 2015 candidate for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.
He received the most votes as nearly 200 people attended the open primary, only the second of its kind in Scotland .
The other three candidates were Colin Clark, Alex Johnstone MSP and Cllr Ross Thomson.
The vote in Aberdeenshire follows a similar successful open primary in the Borders last month.
It represents a new format of selecting parliamentary candidates in a bid to make it transparent and involve more of the electorate, even if they are not members of the party.
Alexander Burnett said:
“I am absolutely delighted to have won the selection to be Conservative candidate for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.
“I have been overwhelmed by the support over the last week, and would like to give my thanks and deep appreciation for that.
“My task now is to repay the faith that has been shown in me.
“The open primary process has been a great democratic innovation.
“I look forward to getting out and about in the constituency over the coming weeks and months, and speaking to as many people as possible.”
John Duncan, chairman of the Scottish Conservative’s West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine association, said:
“It was great to see nearly 200 people come in and show their support for the event.
“We had four excellent candidates who all handled the occasion extremely well.
“The idea was to get more people involved and generate increased interest, and we were very much able to do that.
“The challenge now is to make sure we all get behind Alexander and ensure he wins the seat.”