The Ulster Unionist leader has warned of "horrendous consequences" if republicans fail to begin a decommissioning process. Mr David Trimble signalled he expected to act upon his threat to resign as First Minister on July 1st if there was no decommissioning but said he believed it was wrong to focus on that date.
After a resignation there would be a six-week period before an election to the post of First Minister would have to be held. During this time, Mr Trimble expected republicans to come under pressure to decommission.
"My experience is that the republican movement don't take these things seriously until they are under pressure and until a crisis has occurred," he said.
"We need to create a pressure cooker within that period with pressure on the Shinners to deliver their promises." Mr Trimble described the Sinn Fein leadership as surrogates for the IRA and said pressure was necessary to get them "to pluck up the courage to go and speak to their board of directors." He warned if this did not happen, "that would have horrendous consequences for the future of the process".
All the other parties have said they expect negotiations to take place after the elections in an attempt to resolve the outstanding issues of decommissioning, demilitarisation, policing and the stability of all-Ireland institutions, but Mr Trimble said "I don't expect any negotiations, we are talking about people keeping their word."
Mr Trimble said there was no "secret deal" already in place.
"I am not concerned about some alleged deal which was made between republicans and government, about which republicans cannot speak other than to hint at, and which government tells me does not exist," he said.
The SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, warned that Mr Trimble was wrong to assume there would be a six-week period within which to secure decommissioning.
"I think as an eminent lawyer, he should go back to the legislation and he will see that there is no guarantee that there is a six-week period," he said.
The SDLP deputy leader also criticised Sinn Fein for "straying from the path of the agreement", especially on police reform.
Mr Mallon said Sinn Fein had criticised his party for saying talks after the election could resolve the issue of police reform to its satisfaction.
He said Sinn Fein was attempting to milk the issue for political purposes and would also have to live up to the commitment it had made to support the North's new police service.
Meanwhile, the North's Education Minister, Mr Martin McGuinness, has predicted that his party's president, Mr Gerry Adams, could be Northern Ireland's First Minister within five years, writes Monika Unsworth.
Sinn Fein was only four percentage points behind the UUP and was set to make substantial gains in the forthcoming elections, particularly due to a strong youth vote, Mr McGuinness told the Daily Telegraph.