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Moira Deeming will secure a top spot on the Victorian Liberal party’s upper house ticket unopposed – less than a week after members voted to dump her – after the withdrawal of candidates from a re-run ballot.

Deeming was on Sunday ousted from the number one spot for the western metropolitan region by Dinesh Gourisetty.

But by Monday night, the Victorian Liberal party executive resolved to hold a fresh preselection, after Gourisetty was deemed ineligible to stand as a candidate at the November state election due to a character reference he provided for a friend convicted of sexually assaulting a child.

Nominations for the new ballot opened late Tuesday night and closed at midday Thursday. Deeming and fellow upper house MP Trung Luu, who both contested Sunday’s vote, were not required to renominate.

Luu told Guardian Australia he had withdrawn “in the best interest of the party”. He remains in the number two position on the ticket.

Party sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Tim Beddoe, a former Liberal candidate for the seat of Maribyrnong at last year’s federal election, real estate agent Bobby Lakra and Steve Murphy, the party’s candidate at the Werribee byelection, all nominated for the top spot.

They considered Lakra Deeming’s main challenger, as he is part of Melbourne’s Indian community and was expected to receive the support of the same bloc of delegates who backed Gourisetty on Sunday.

However, in another twist, sources said Lakra’s nomination was ruled invalid on Thursday afternoon after it was found to be missing the required two referral letters, barring him from the contest.

A source close to Lakra said he had confirmed with the party before nominations closed at midday on Thursday that they had the required information. They accused the party executive committee of “intentionally knocking back” his application.

Following Lakra’s exclusion, Beddoe withdrew from the race. Murphy, who is considered an ally of Deeming, also stepped aside on Thursday night.

The withdrawals clear the way for the party executive to endorse Deeming without holding a preselection convention. Sources said this outcome was part of a concerted effort to contain the messy factional war engulfing the party before the November election.

Deeming, who is on personal leave, has not publicly confirmed whether she will pursue preselection. However, under party rules, any candidate who nominated for Sunday’s ballot and did not withdraw was automatically considered for endorsement.

She declined to comment.

Several party members have criticised the re-run preselection process as a “stitch up” designed to limit new candidates, as they were given less than an hour’s notice on Tuesday night that nominations would reopen for just 36 hours

The process requires getting references from at least two people, 10 signatures from eligible party members, a national police check and a credit report. Candidates also have to complete an 18-page questionnaire designed to unearth anything that could embarrass the party, such as past drug use, dating app activity, or visits to brothels or strip clubs.

They must also pay a $5,000 application fee, most of which goes to an external consultancy responsible for vetting.

The process is now under review after it failed to flag Gourisetty’s character reference.