A troubleshooter has been drafted in to sort out the "gigantic mess" in Labour's selection process to replace disgraced MP Eric Joyce.
Scottish Labour called time on a local consultation into whether an all-woman shortlist (AWS) should be used for the safe seat, following complaints about the survey being flawed.
A UK Labour official, Eric Wilson, will help oversee the selection of a new candidate for the 2015 General Election.
The vacancy in Falkirk arose when Joyce quit Labour last year after he assaulted four people in a House of Commons bar.
The contenders in the race are: former Unison official Karie Murphy; ex-Falkirk council leader Linda Gow; and Gregor Poynton, the UK Political Director of communications firm Blue State Digital. Ms Murphy, who is the office manager for high-profile Labour MP Tom Watson, is being heavily backed by the Unite union.
Unite paid for a survey on whether there should be an AWS in Falkirk, a decision some local members believed was an attempt by the union to "stitch up" the contest for Ms Murphy.
Members were asked: "Do you agree that Falkirk would benefit from an All Woman Shortlist for the Westminster selection?"
However, the "do you agree" formula is seen as being loaded, an argument Labour used when the SNP Government proposed the same wording for the independence referendum question. Following the concerns, the party halted the consultation and seized control of the process.
Mr Wilson, Labour's senior national constitutional officer, has been appointed as procedures secretary for the selection process.
An all-member meeting will be held next month to gauge views on AWS.
One Labour source said: "To call this selection process a gigantic mess would be an understatement."
The controversy comes after The Herald revealed that Ms Murphy posted an offensive remark on her public Facebook page about former Tory prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
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