Seven candidates will contest next month's European Parliament elections in the North reports Dan Keenan, Northern News Editor.
Candidates from the SDLP, Sinn Féin, the DUP and Ulster Unionists will contest the three-seat constituency, as will journalist Eamonn McCann, the Green Party's Ms Lindsay Whitcroft and independent pro-EU candidate Mr John Gilliland. Nominations closed yesterday and the election is viewed as one of the most open and unpredictable contests of recent times.
Mr Jim Allister has been nominated to stand as the DUP candidate in place of the Rev Ian Paisley, who is standing down, while Belfast Lord Mayor Mr Martin Morgan is the SDLP candidate, replacing Mr John Hume, who is also retiring.
Both parties have begun concerted efforts to retain the sizeable personal votes of Mr Hume and Dr Paisley.
Sinn Féin is fielding Ms Bairbre de Brún, the former health minister in the Stormont Executive before its suspension.
Mr Jim Nicholson, the only sitting MEP seeking re-election, is standing for the Ulster Unionists, who are attempting to place their internal divisions and defections behind them.
Party election broadcasts have begun, with the DUP pitching their campaign in a strident Eurosceptic tone and urging a strong voter turnout to ensure the party tops the poll, as it has done in each of the five European elections held since 1979.
In its election broadcast, the SDLP has portrayed Mr Morgan as a next-generation successor to Mr Hume.
The party insists he is the only pro-European among the candidates from the major parties and that he will inherit Mr Hume's influence at the Strasbourg assembly.
The Ulster Unionists, keen to present a united front, are attempting to distance themselves from the schisms over the policies of the Trimble leadership.
Sinn Féin is confident of taking a European seat for the first time, but some in the party believe it may not necessarily be at the expense of the SDLP.
Mr John Gilliland, until recently the head of the Ulster Farmers' Union, is supported by the Alliance party and the Workers' Party and is running on a pro-EU and pro-Belfast Agreement ticket. He is also backed by Dr Kieran Deeney, the only independent Assembly member elected last autumn.