SINN FEIN last night claimed a right to unimpeded entry into all party negotiations on June 10th after making impressive gains in the Northern Ireland elections.
As his party exceeded all expectations by capturing almost 15.5 per cent of the overall vote, Mr Gerry Adams demanded that the British and Irish prime ministers should recognise and respect its clear democratic mandate.
Attention is now firmly focused on the two governments' insistence that the IRA must reinstate its ceasefire if Sinn Fein is to be invited to participate in the historic negotiations.
Mr Adams said. "Those who imposed the elections upon us have a responsibility now to abide by, and to accept and to respect the outcome of yesterday's poll."
Yesterday's results are seen as strengthening the hand of those within the republican movement who want to concentrate on a political agenda, and it is expected that an intense internal debate will ensue.
All the main Northern parties, apart from Alliance, could take some comfort from the surprise verdict of the electorate, which left the ranking of the top four parties unchanged, but significantly increased the showing of both the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein as compared with the 1992 general election.
Just over three quarters of a million people voted, out of a total electorate of almost 1.2 million a turnout of 65 per cent. The Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, commented last night. "People in Northern Ireland have realised the importance of the elections, of the opportunity that they give ....... to shape their future".
Mr David Trimble's Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) emerged at the head of the poll, with just over 24 per cent of the total votes, confirming its position as the dominant unionist party.
It was followed closely by the SDLP, with more than 21 per cent, and the DUP came third with almost 19 per cent. Sinn Fein's performance marked by sweeping gains in West Belfast, Foyle and several other constituencies put it in fourth place, while Alliance was well down the field with 6.5 per cent.
Mr Robert McCartney's UK Unionist Party took just under 3.7 per cent, but Mr McCartney himself was its sole candidate to achieve direct election.
In the event of an IRA ceasefire, these six parties will be joined at the talks table by four others who gained the right of representation through the "topping up" regional list. The four who are brought in by this are the two loyalist fringe parties, the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and the Labour grouping.
The "top 10" will also constitute the proposed 110 member Forum, which is intended to be convened at an unspecified date after the start of the all party talks.
Last night, Mr Adams refused to speculate on the prospects of a renewed IRA ceasefire. He simply urged the two governments to "get down to business and clear the way to all party talks", and added. "If we are not involved, there won't be proper peace negotiations.".