Sinn Féin has called on the British government to end the "uncertainty and confusion" in the North by setting a definitive date for Assembly elections.
Speaking following a meeting of the Sinn Féin ardchomhairle in party headquarters in Dublin this morning, party chairman Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, said elections were a "democratic imperative" and that politics in Northern Ireland must be seen to work.
But he said he believed his party had won its argument with Mr Tony Blair, adding: "It is our judgement, at this time, that there is now a probability... that there will be an autumn election.
"We are dealing with the British government on an ongoing basis and, as I speak, we have reason to believe, in terms of our engagement, that we have won that argument with Tony Blair.
"We think he has conceded the point."
Mr McLaughlin also accused the Ulster Unionist Party of "continuously raising the bar" to elections and said there was growing frustration around the country, both north and south, over the continued delays that were blocking any chance of further progress in the peace process.
"An election is a democratic imperative and it is our beliefthat we have won the argument on this matter, nationally and internationally," Mr McLaughlin said.