Senator Marc Bean was last night elected as the Progressive Labour Party's candidate for the Warwick South Central by-election.

The Junior Tourism Minister is said to have won convincingly over challengers Attorney General Kim Wilson, entrepreneur Nelson Hunt and Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert at St. Mary's Church Hall in Warwick.

He is now the overwhelming favourite to succeed Premier Ewart Brown as the representative for Constituency 26, a PLP stronghold in which Dr. Brown defeated United Bermuda Party candidate Roderick Simons 562 votes to 252 at the last General Election.

The by-election is expected around three weeks after Dr. Brown retires from politics when his term as Premier finishes at next month's PLP annual delegates' conference.

At PLP branch meetings in the East End last night, former student activist Jhon Gibbons defeated the Premier's press secretary Jamahl Simmons to be named the candidate for St. George's West, where he will likely take on UBP leader Kim Swan at the next General Election.

Mr. Gibbons was in the news as a 19-year-old in 1994, when he was arrested in connection with a controversial flier released a day before the Queen arrived in Bermuda, reportedly calling for black high school and college students to boycott her visit.

And Pastor Leroy Bean won in St. George's South, where he will almost certainly be involved in a three-way battle, with both Opposition parties believing they can win the traditional marginal.

Pastor Bean is the founder of anti-gang group CARTEL, and has recently called for Government to help finance a mediation programme to bring an end to gang violence.

The Constituency Four seat is currently held by Donte Hunt, who won narrowly for the UBP three years ago, before quitting to help form the Bermuda Democratic Alliance.