NORTHERN Ireland effectively has been in election mode for the past three months, and today the electorate is again being urged by all the parties to turn out in high numbers to protect the Union, to advance nationalism or to bolster moderation.
Today 1,179,066 voters are entitled to vote for more than 1,000 candidates competing for 582 seats in 26 councils. Just how many can work up the interest and energy to exercise their franchise will determine how well nationalists and unionists fare.
Northern Ireland is experiencing election fatigue and the burn-out factor is something which might benefit parties likes Sinn Fein and the loyalist fringe groupings. Yesterday the SDLP and larger unionist parties were making one last effort to shake their supporters' electoral torpor.
Between the Westminster election and today's poll Northern Ireland has been on an election footing for almost 10 weeks, and long before that it was in pre-election mode. "Why couldn't they have held the local elections in tandem with the British general election three weeks ago?" people grumble.
"I think there is a high degree of electoral tiredness among the elective and the electorate. The campaigns have been just too long," said Mr Nigel Dodds, secretary of the Democratic Unionist Party, who is seeking re-election to Belfast City Council.
Still, there is a lot to play for. There are power struggles between nationalists and unionists for control of a number of councils, most importantly Belfast. Such is the nature of the election, which is based on proportional representation, that many seats could be swung by just 10 votes or less.
Then there is the wider picture.
In the Westminster election nationalists made major gains. The SDLP increased its vote slightly to 24 per cent while Sinn Fein in creased its vote from 10 per cent in the 1992 British general election to 16 per cent three weeks ago. The Alliance Party, the flag carrier for the middle ground, polled a respectable 8 per cent.
This left the combined nationalist vote at 40 per cent against 46 per cent for the Ulster Unionist Party and the DUP, with the minor unionist figures and the two loyalist parties weighing in with a further 3 per cent.
Overall unionists will strive to claw back some of the nationalist vote which taken together is a significant minority, and a powerful bargaining bloc in any future talks. The SDLP and Sinn Fein, while competing, will be hoping to maintain that high percentage of votes.
This could also have implications for the peace process and the prospects of a renewed IRA ceasefire. Another high turnout for Sinn Fein should strengthen the position of those within republicanism who favour the ballot box above the Armalite.
The Sinn Fein electoral machine is without doubt the best in Northern Ireland. Whereas parties such as the SDLP and UUP are lucky to have teams of canvassers numbering four or five, Sinn Fein (and to a lesser extent the Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party) can muster virtual platoons of activists.
Sinn Fein's main focus will be on Belfast where it hopes to at least consolidate its position as the second-largest party on the council. A loss of just two seats by unionists would leave Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance holding the majority of the 51 seats on the council.
Just how seriously unionists are viewing the nationalist threat in Belfast can be gauged by the DUP's slogan: "Use Your Vote, or Lose Your City". The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, has been issuing similar warnings for all electoral areas.
In the battle between SDLP and Sinn Fein republicans will be hoping to make inroads in Derry, Mr John Hume's bailiwick. The SDLP's majority is safe but if Sinn Fein takes some of the party's 17 seats it would be another fillip, indicating that it is gradually whittling away the SDLP vote.
Nationalists are also seeking to gain control of councils such as Armagh, Strabane and Fermanagh where unionists are hoping that, despite the electoral ennui, their supporters will come out in sufficient numbers to maintain their tiny advantages.
In unionist-dominated councils such as Ballymena, Carrickfergus and Castlereagh there will be tight battles between the DUP and the UUP for the lion's share of the unionist vote.
The Alliance Party, which won 45 seats in the 1993 local elections, believes that proportional representation and a growing middle ground will allow it enhance its number of seats. The loyalist PUP and UDP also foresee gains in Belfast and Lisburn.
