MANY ills have afflicted Belfast over the years, but election fever is not a problem just now. I collected the grand total of six leaflets from my mailbox in the South Belfast constituency.
Martin Smyth, Ulster Unionist and sitting MP, was selling himself as "A tested man in Westminster". Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP had a nice picture of himself with Tony Blair. Paddy Lynn of the Workers' Party spent a bit more money to produce a stylish mini newspaper with colour photographs.
Steve McBride of the Alliance Party had to make do with black and white, as did Myrtle Boal, the Conservative candidate, who said a vote for anyone else would be intolerant, narrow minded and downright unneighbourly. David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party had a typically punchy and pithy election message.
I had no visits from canvassers and saw few election posters in the locality. Nor have I heard any vans with loudspeakers blaring out songs like Arise And Follow David or even The Sash.
The only bit of canvassing for Sinn Fein that I noticed in the downtown Belfast area was carried out by John Major when he declared during a visit on Monday last: "I am a unionist."
Helping Sinn Fein was not Mr Major's intention, of course, but de facto that is what he did. De Facto would be a good name for Northern Ireland right now: some say we have a de facto IRA ceasefire while the election lasts, in addition to a de facto loyalist military campaign.
De facto, there is only one issue in the election here and that is the constitutional position. The other differences are internal to each camp. On the unionist side there is the on again, off again pragmatism of the UUP versus the No Surrender approach of Ian Paisley.
The differences between the SDLP and Sinn Fein may have been blurred by the peace process but it is still clear that one party condemns the IRA while the other does not.
Relations between the two main nationalist parties have not been helped by the election campaign. With the help of political leaders from the Republic, the SDLP highlighted Sinn Fein's links with the IRA. Sinn Fein for its part sought to drive a wedge between "Good Guy" John Hume and the reluctant peace processors in the rest of the party leadership.
But it was not in Sinn Fein's interests to get into a mudslinging contest with the larger party. A Sinn Fein leader remarked that you may talk about hawks and doves in the republican movement or the Tory party, but the hawks appeared to be running the SDLP election campaign.
Sinn Fein sources are confident they will hold the 15.5 per cent vote they obtained in the Forum elections. Naturally, you will hear a contrary view from the SDLP. Independent observers say the SDLP will recover some but not all of the support it, lost last time and that the loss to Sinn Fein will be compensated by fresh voters jolted out of their apathy by the events surrounding Drumcree.
Election watchers say the bottom line is that the Sinn Fein percentage of the vote will hold up well but that it could have been considerably higher were it not for the continuing IRA campaign, in particular the recent shooting of a woman RUC officer in Derry.
Percentages matter less than seats in this election. There was general surprise in 1992 when the SDLP's Joe Hendron snatched. West Belfast by 589 votes from Gerry Adams, even though the Falls Road had been decked out like a shrine to the Sinn Fein president.
Dr Hendron has campaigned strongly, but the addition of Twinbrook and Poleglass to the constituency will benefit Sinn Fein more than the SDLP. There will be some tactical voting by Protestants on the Shankill Road but not enough to offset this redrawing of the boundaries. SDLP sources privately expect Adams to win by between 2,000 and 3,000 votes.
Bookmakers are reportedly refusing bets on this election, least of all on the Mid Ulster constituency. The fate of William McCrea's seat may have been decided when the DUP man shared a platform with the high profile loyalist Billy Wright last September. Wright was jailed early last month after he was convicted of threatening the life of a Portadown woman. He had previously served a jail sentence on arms and hijacking charges and was also held on remand for 10 months on the word of a supergrass".
The anger Mr McCrea's action generated among the nationalist population still has not abated, but the question is will it be enough to deprive him of his seat? If Billy Wright is a bogyman to the nationalists, the Sinn Fein candidate, Martin McGuinness, is regarded with similar dismay by the unionist community. The result is that even moderate unionists are lining up behind Mr McCrea and, as one observer put it. Every unionist able to walk is voting and if they can't walk they'll be carried.
The SDLP candidate, Denis Haughey, is a former civil rights activist and has been a leading SDLP member since the party's foundation. He has served the constituency for many years and it could be argued that in a fairer world he would be the nationalist front runner. However, most independent observers believe McGuinness, with his high media profile, will come in ahead of him. Opinions are divided on whether the Derryman can oust McCrea although Sinn Fein sources are very confident that their electoral machine can carry the day.
Reports from West Tyrone have been more encouraging for the SDLP. The party's vice chairman, Joe Byrne, hit the ground running here. He is a local man who is well known in Tyrone GAA circles. Pat Doherty of Sinn Fein is also seen as a strong candidate: he will be no pushover despite coming from outside the constituency.
It was thought that Willie Thompson of the UUP might take the seat because of the divided nationalist vote, but most observers now believe Mr Byrne can win. Sinn Fein sources privately agree that the party organisation is not strong enough here to win this time around.
Few observers doubt that the UUP will retain its existing nine seats at Westminster, with a reasonable chance of adding another one if Mr Thompson gets lucky in West Tyrone. Reg Empey is expected to give Peter Robinson a run for his money in East Belfast, but the DUP man is likely to hold that seat. Robert McCartney is also expected to come through in North Down even though some UUP sources still insist their candidate, Alan McFarland, has a fighting chance.
Iris Robinson of the DUP is conducting a lively campaign against John Taylor in the Strangford constituency but the UUP deputy leader is expected to survive.
Should Mr McCrea be defeated in Mid Ulster it will be a serious blow to the DUP which will be reduced from three Westminster seats to two. Crocodile tears from the UUP will be no consolation. The election hinges on the McGuinness McCrea battle and all eyes in Northern Ireland will be on the Omagh Leisure Centre where the votes will be counted tomorrow.