Former Parliament Speaker Sir Kerry Burke will face a vote of no confidence as chairman of Environment Canterbury (ECan) when the regional authority next meets.
Sir Kerry has been at odds with a number of councillors and lost a bid to get a motion of no confidence off the council agenda when it met in Timaru yesterday.
That means there will be a showdown vote on September 24 when councillors will decide whether to remove Sir Kerry as chairman and to elect a replacement, The Timaru Herald reported.
The rebellion has been led by South Canterbury councillor Mark Oldfield, who told yesterday's meeting that Sir Kerry lacked leadership and was a poor communicator.
Sir Kerry said communication was a two-way process and he accused his detractors of pettiness.
The best chance for a change of leadership was at the next local body elections, and dumping a chairman part way through a term would be counter productive, he said.
