Pro-agreement parties are planning to claw back ground lost to the united No campaign by joining forces over the coming weeks. Representatives from a number of parties will share platforms at rallies calling for a Yes vote, Ms Monica McWilliams of the Women's Coalition has said.
"It's very easy to get united around No, and when you're saying Yes there are different constituencies that parties are speaking to. Now we have decided that it's time to do a common platform, and we'll be starting to do that," Ms McWilliams said.
The Women's Coalition yesterday launched its Yes campaign from the top of an open doubledecker bus in front of Belfast City Hall, before setting off on a tour of nearby towns. Members waved green and purple flags, the colours of the suffragettes, and distributed leaflets calling for a Yes vote.
Ms McWilliams said she would be addressing a public meeting in Enniskillen next week with members of the SDLP, PUP and UDP. She also expected a representative of the Ulster Unionist Party to take part. A UUP spokesman said such joint rallies could take place locally, but that they were not being planned from party headquarters.
Ms McWilliams said the Belfast Agreement provided "a unique and wonderful opportunity" to build a new country. "It's going to be a new future, I do believe that." She said membership of the Coalition had swelled to 500 from less than 300 before the agreement. Male members will also be speaking on campaign platforms.
Ms McWilliams said her biggest fear was that people would vote either unionist or nationalist and that they would "fall between a tribal contest". Provisions in the agreement addressed the needs of women, as it affirmed their right to full and equal participation in public life. It also refers to "the advancement of women in public life", she said.
Ms May Blood, a community worker on the Shankill Road, acknowledged that there was "a great fear" among some people, but urged them to vote Yes. "Let's give this chance to the next generation. Not everything in the agreement is liked by everybody, but that's the way agreements are formed. Everybody gets a little."
The Women's Coalition is now aiming to win at least one seat in the Assembly elections.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions also launched its campaign for a Yes vote yesterday. The Northern organiser, Mr Terry Carlin, said the ICTU didn't usually take a stand on constitutional issues, but regarded the current situation as unique, because the agreement was backed by eight parties and the two governments. It had provisions for human, social and economic rights. "For those reasons we are urging a Yes vote," he said. The agreement represented "a step towards peace and reconciliation".