The SDLP leader, Mr Mark Durkan, launching his party's manifesto yesterday, confirmed that Sinn Féin had made overtures about a transfer voting pact between the two parties, but that he had declined the offer of agreeing a "narrow" voting arrangement.
Mr Durkan also suggested that in some areas Sinn Féin was telling its supporters not to transfer to the SDLP, notwithstanding the party's insistence that republicans should vote "down the slate" for Sinn Féin candidates and then transfer to pro-Belfast Agreement candidates of their choice.
In response to Sinn Féin claims that the SDLP had rejected a pact arrangement, Mr Durkan said that some weeks ago a party leader, who he subsequently said was Mr Gerry Adams, approached him and said he was "wondering about publicly asking for a transfer pact".
The SDLP leader said he told him that his party was seeking votes for all its candidates and then urging voters to transfer to Yes candidates.
Equally the SDLP was seeking transfers from all pro-agreement parties.
"But we were not going to get involved in narrow pacts with one party or another," said Mr Durkan. He added that Mr Adams had told him he would "think about what he had said".
In another morning press conference yesterday, Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, indicated that Mr Durkan's response to Mr Adams was a "repudiation" of the offer of a pact.
Mr Durkan also intimated that Sinn Féin in certain areas, which he did not disclose, was actively telling supporters not to transfer to the SDLP. He would not be drawn on this claim when pressed by The Irish Times.
Transfers are, however, particularly vital to the SDLP in the battles for the fifth and sixth seats in the six-seater constituencies.
"In a tight proportional representation election, a small number of votes in each constituency will make all the difference," he said.
The SDLP's 34-page Manifesto for Equality, Justice and Prosperity carries a wide range of policies, which Mr Durkan said were designed "to invigorate our economy, improve our society and unite our community through working the Good Friday agreement".
From the outset, the manifesto stresses that the SDLP will resist attempts to renegotiate the agreement. It states that the party is "100 per cent for a united Ireland" and calls for a referendum on unity within the lifetime of the next Assembly.
