Labour TDs will this weekend consult their constituency councils in arriving at a final decision on who should succeed Mr Dick Spring as leader of the party.
As the two declared candidates, Mr Ruairi Quinn and Mr Brendan Howlin, cranked up their campaigns to replace him, sources in the party last night refused to rule out the possibility that a third candidate may come forward before nominations close on Monday.
The party's governing body, the general council, had discussions lasting several hours in Dublin yesterday which Mr Spring atten ded for the last time as leader. He steps down at about noon today.
The council also decided yesterday that Mr John O'Brien, a SIP TU official from Wicklow, should succeed the late Mr Jim Kemmy as chairman of the Labour party. Mr O'Brien joined the party in 1971 and was elected vice-chairman in 1993.
Secretary of the Labour Trade Union Group since 1984, he has been a full-time SIPTU official since 1970.
The council also agreed on the mechanism for next week's election and both candidates will be allowed make their final pitch for votes in individual addresses to the voters before balloting begins.
The total electorate is 64 and includes all 20 members of the parliamentary Labour Party. The council and parliamentary Lab our Party will meet in joint session at 11 a.m. on Thursday to elect a leader by secret ballot.
Council members, who make up two-thirds of the voting college, will meet TDs and senators at the weekend to discuss the merits of the candidates. However, sources in the council said last night that Labour TDs could influence only as few as 10 votes on that body.
The camps of both candidates are offering conflicting analyses of the outcome, with Mr Howlin's supporters stating that a majority of the parliamentary Labour Party and the council is already behind him. However, no other TDs have followed Mr Emmet Stagg and Mr Michael Ferris in publicly declaring support for Mr Howlin.
Councils members said last night they would not reach a final decision on how to vote until nominations have closed. Though Mr Howlin's camp is claiming its candidate will win, council members cautioned against predictions at this stage.
Voters will concentrate on examining the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. Mr Quinn is seen by many in the council as being too conservative fiscally, in terms of public spending, during his stint as Minister for Finance, while Mr Howlin's handling of the hepatitis C scandal while Minister for Health is seen as a negative factor against him.
"Personal friendships will also come into play. Because the electorate is so small, voters are on good terms with each of the candidates and everybody wants to remain on good terms under the new leader. This makes it very difficult to predict the outcome," one source said.