Mr David Trimble's future as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party was still in doubt tonight as his party continued to haemorrhage support in the local government elections.
The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists and Sinn Féin built on their gains in the general election by increasing their share of seats in Northern Ireland's 26 councils at the expense of the UUP and the nationalist SDLP.
With 220 of the 582 seats declared as of 6 p.m., the DUP had 55 councillors, Ulster Unionists were on 51, Sinn Féin and SDLP had 46 each.
The UUP's losses were unnerving rival pro and anti-Belfast Agreement camps in the party, with Mr Trimble's opponents predicting he would face a leadership challenge at a meeting of the Ulster Unionists' ruling council on June 23rd.
Among those tipped as possible leadership challengers were South Belfast MP the Rev Martin Smyth, who fought Mr Trimble in a leadership contest in March 1999, and Lagan Valley MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson.
An anti-Agreement source told PA News: "The party is losing a seat here and a seat there across the councils and whatever way you look at it, it's not good.
"The Ulster Unionist Council's AGM will be a day of reckoning. The party just can't go on losing ground to the DUP."
Ulster Unionists loyal to Mr Trimble tonight insisted the UUP should concentrate on party reform instead of a leadership battle.
Stormont minister Mr Michael McGimpsey said the lesson for the UUP from both elections was the need for party unity.
"It's the old story of a house divided against itself can't stand. If you are going to present to the electorate a divided party, you can't expect it to vote for you," he said.
Mr Trimble was in fighting form, insisting the UUP remained the largest party in terms of the popular vote.
With the party still considering a legal challenge to Sinn Féin's general election victory in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Mr Trimble accused the DUP of "splitting the unionist vote" and helping republicans to win the seat.
Sinn Féin remained confident tonight that it would have more than 100 councillors.
The party was, however, anxiously awaiting tomorrow's results for Belfast City Council to see if it could have its first ever Lord Mayor elected.
PA