The SDLP has nominated its leader, Mark Durkan, to contest John Hume's seat in Westminster in a General Election expected to be held next year.
Mr Durkan was chosen at a selection convention in Co Derry this evening.
He pledged to continue Mr Hume's record of investment in jobs and infrastructure in Derry so that the city could become a thriving and modern regional hub.
In the last General Election in 2001, Mr Hume, who was then the leader of the SDLP, secured 11,500 more votes than his nationalist rival, Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin.