Sinn Féin will today meet PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde for their first direct talks since the special ardfheis last month to change policing policy.
It is expected that policing spokesman and outgoing North Belfast Assembly member Gerry Kelly will raise loyalist collusion during the meeting.
"We also intend raising with Mr Orde the concerns of bereaved families who want the truth about the deaths of their loved ones," he said. The meeting comes as Sinn Féin insisted that the majority of the electorate wanted a political settlement.
Both the SDLP and Ulster Unionists, however, have claimed the leading parties are incapable of providing one.
Sinn Féin's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness claimed that most unionists and loyalists wanted an inclusive government at Stormont in preference to direct rule. "It is now very, very clear," he said, "that an overwhelming majority of people within the unionist and loyalist community want the peace process to succeed, want the institutions of government back up and running and want to see Ian Paisley in government with Sinn Féin and the other parties." He said he would be "dumbfounded" if the DUP were not getting that message on the doorsteps.
Mr McGuinness said that if the DUP opted not to share power at Stormont then the British and Irish governments should act. "I think if that [powersharing] doesn't happen the two governments would be duty bound to move directly to the joint partnership arrangements they indicated they would move to."
However SDLP leader Mark Durkan claimed that more votes for Sinn Féin and the DUP would only lead to more stalemate.
In a statement marking the party's first TV election broadcast, he said: "Let's be clear, if Sinn Féin and the DUP increase their mandate, there won't be a first minister. There'll only be a Secretary of State and direct rule because left to themselves the DUP and Sinn Féin cannot work together."
That tone is expected to be repeated by the Ulster Unionists at their election manifesto release this morning. One well-placed UUP source claimed the party recognised a public mood in favour of a return to powersharing and devolution and intended to "ride the wave".
"People want normal politics," The Irish Timeswas told. The party believes that Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness as first minister and deputy first minister "cannot provide stability".
However, DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson believes his party has "stabilised the situation and directed unionism towards firm and solid ground".
In a campaign speech this morning he is claiming the DUP could "cement the progress that has been made and ensure we see delivery and completion".
His party had demonstrated that it could be trusted "to ensure the circumstances are in place for long-term, stable devolution".
"The days of short-term fixes and fudges are over. No more stop-go government, with one suspension followed by another. We are building the basis for a long-term settlement."