The SDLP, Alliance Party and Sinn Fein candidates have launched their campaigns for the South Antrim by-election on September 21st.
The SDLP contender, Mr Donovan McClelland, criticised the Ulster Unionist candidate, Mr David Burnside, and the DUP's Rev William McCrea, for not being local representatives.
"It seems that South Antrim is attracting many `political butterflies' who float from constituency to constituency looking for a seat to land on. On the one hand, we have a London-based executive, originally from north Antrim seeking a South Antrim seat, while on the other we have a former Mid-Ulster MP who was roundly rejected by his constituents, doing the rounds in a frantic bid to get back into the `British House of Commons'," Mr McClelland said, stressing his local credentials.
The Alliance Party candidate, Mr David Ford, outlined his main reasons for standing. He said he wanted to give people who voted for the Belfast Agreement the opportunity to vote for an "unambiguously" pro-agreement candidate.
Mr Ford's candidature was endorsed by the Alliance leader, Mr Sean Neeson, who said he was the only contender to offer a "genuine non-sectarian alternative and full support for the Belfast Agreement".
He added: "Unlike many of the other candidates, David Ford has a solid track record of work and experience in the constituency." The Sinn Fein candidate, Mr Martin Meehan, said his candidature would give the nationalist people of South Antrim a chance to gain "real representation" for the first time.
Another contender will be the Northern Ireland Unionist Party's Mr Norman Boyd. At the last election, the UUP candidate, Mr Clifford Forsythe, won the seat with a 16,611 majority.