Public meetings will be held across Co Mayo in the coming months in an effort to identify an agreed independent candidate to contest the next election.
The First Independent Mayo campaign will today announce the names of eight applicants who will contest the nomination.
It follows an advertisement seeking candidates, which was placed in local and national newspapers earlier this year.
All of the applicants are men, aged between 30 and 60.
A spokesperson for the organisers said all of them were from Co Mayo, with some living outside the county at present.
The selection process will involve a number of community hall meetings, where voters will be able to hear the applicants outline their priorities.
First Independent Mayo plans to register independent voters, who will then ballot to select the successful candidate in the autumn.
