The Assembly is to convene on Monday to discuss a no-confidence motion in the Speaker-designate, Lord Alderdice, tabled by the DUP.
The DUP put down the motion following the cutting short of last week's Assembly debate on a report presented by the North's First and Deputy First Ministers, Mr David Trimble and Mr Seamus Mallon, setting out how devolution would be achieved in March.
The debate was due to last either two or three days but the UUP successfully tabled a guillotine motion terminating the debate after one day.
Lord Alderdice said that he was powerless under standing orders to reject the closure motion. He told infuriated anti-agreement members that they were victims of a political ambush, a common parliamentary ruse.
Angry DUP politicians, with other anti-agreement members, such as UK Unionist Party leader, Mr Robert McCartney, citing numerous points of order, argued with Lord Alderdice that he should not cut short the debate.
After Lord Alderdice rejected the arguments, the DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, indicated a motion of no confidence in the speaker-designate would be tabled.
He said yesterday that the motion would be debated on Monday. "There was no real opposition to the proposal," he said. Mr Robinson would not be drawn on whether his party would put forward an alternative candidate for the role of speaker.
"I would say, just come along to the debate and wait and see what happens," he said.
