The deselection of two Sinn Féin Assembly members as candidates for the next election in March has not been ratified by the leadership, the party said last night.
Pat O'Rawe, a former leader of Armagh council, and Davy Hyland, a former mayor of Newry, were both deselected by their local organisation earlier this week.
However, a party spokesman said the selection of candidates is a two-stage process and is ultimately dependent upon the ratification of local decisions by the leadership.
The Irish Times understands that Ms O'Rawe will be included on the Sinn Féin ticket in the Newry-Armagh constituency when electors go to the polls on March 7th next year on the leadership's insistence.
It is not expected that Mr Hyland will be among the three Sinn Féin candidates chosen to contest the six-seat constituency.
In North Belfast, Kathy Stanton has indicated she will not be running and the local party has denied she was also deselected.
Supporters of Mr Hyland spoke yesterday of the sitting Assembly member's hard work and of his difficulty with accepting moves towards endorsing the PSNI.
One caller to BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback phone-in programme said Mr Hyland had suffered at the hands of the former RUC over many years.
Policing spokesman Gerry Kelly has denied that differences over the question of policing and justice had also led to the decision of Ms Stanton not to seek re-election in North Belfast.
Rumours continued to circulate yesterday that further selection problems, prompted by the policing question, remain for Sinn Féin candidates in another constituency.
A spokesman said such talk was "premature".