In the battle for West Belfast, nationalists only need apply. The 1998 Assembly election saw a combined Sinn Fein/SDLP vote of 84 per cent and this could be even higher next week.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, topped the poll in 1998 and three other Sinn Fein members were elected to Stormont.
Two SDLP members, Dr Joe Hendron, ousted as MP by Mr Adams in 1997, and Mr Alex Attwood, the 2001 contender, were also elected.
Unionists, almost entirely from the Shankill area, should have been able to secure a seat, but then as now their vote was divided among a number of candidates.
Both nationalist parties say the major issue on the doorsteps is law and order, with Mr Attwood claiming that many object to Sinn Fein's "all or nothing" approach to the policing issue.
Mr Adams says it is his party which is in touch with public opinion on the issue.
Sinn Fein accuses the SDLP of having made a deal on policing already but of being afraid to tell its voters.
The contest for votes has always been hard fought, with accusations of fraud made by both sides. This election is as acrimonious as ever. Mr Attwood has said electors "are tired and weary of one group of people thinking they own and run west Belfast".
This has led him to predict, if not victory, then at least a narrowing of the gap between his and Mr Adams's vote "down into thousands".
For its part, Sinn Fein points to the fact its Assembly vote was more than twice that of the SDLP and is confident of victory.
Other candidates are Mr Chris McGimpsey, UUP; the Rev Eric Smyth, DUP; Mr John Lowry, Workers' Party; Mr David Kerr, Ulster Third Way; and Mr George Weiss, Vote for Yourself Party.
On Belfast City Council, the SDLP hope to gain a seat in the Upper Falls ward, while Sinn Fein hopes to squeeze Margaret Walsh out of her seat in the Lower Falls.