The Progressive Democrats are expected to adopt a new system of electing their leader at a special conference in Dublin tomorrow, giving party members a substantial but not a majority vote.
A committee which has been considering the matter will propose that an electoral college consisting of three parts choose Ms Mary Harney's successor. TDs, MEPs and elected senators would have 40 per cent of the vote; appointed senators, councillors, executive members and party trustees would have 20 per cent; and the party's 3,000 members would control 40 per cent.
Two modest variations of this system have been proposed by different constituencies, while the conference will also consider but is unlikely to approve a proposal to retain the status quo whereby the parliamentary party alone elects the leader.
The conference in Dublin's Green Isle Hotel is expected to mark the end of a process which began over a year ago at the PD conference in Galway, where a motion from the Minister for Justice Mr Michael McDowell's Dublin South-East constituency, seeking a one-member, one-vote system of electing the leader, was withdrawn.
Instead, the conference agreed to set up a committee, chaired by party activist Mr Tadhg Kearney, to report to a special conference on the issue.
The choice of election system was initially seen as crucial to deciding the outcome of the next party leadership contest whenever Ms Harney is being replaced. However, tomorrow's conference is not being presented with options which strongly favour different potential candidates, and party sources do not expect it to be a contentious affair.
While every party member is entitled to attend, only a modest proportion of the membership is expected tomorrow. Neither of the two men seen as the main contenders in the event of a vacancy - Mr McDowell and Mr Tom Parlon - is understood to be working to send a large number of voters to the meeting, reflecting a lack of competition over the outcome.
Initially a one-member, one-vote system was seen as favouring Mr McDowell, who is popular among substantial elements of the membership. However, Mr Parlon's achievement in having some 800 people from Laois/Offaly - over 25 per cent of the total membership - join the party, may have neutralised that advantage.
The party moved away from the idea of a one-member, one-vote system after the rapid growth in Laois/Offaly membership figures showed that, as a small party, the PDs could be vulnerable to takeover if it adopted the system.