Election Countdown/19 Days to go: The Women's Coalition has dismissed suggestions that the party will be wiped out at the assembly election as wishful thinking by the larger parties.
Speaking following the launch of the party's campaign and manifesto, its leader, Ms Monica Williams, said poll research and feedback indicated that both she and Ms Jane Morrice would hold their seats.
With a manifesto heavily emphasising health and education reform, Ms Morrice said the party aimed to move Northern politics towards addressing the "everyday needs of people first". The party is fielding seven candidates in seven constituencies.
Strategists with the largest four parties have been predicting that the smaller parties such as the Women's Coalition, the Alliance and the Progressive Unionists will be severely squeezed or annihilated in the election.
Ms McWilliams said: "It's part of the political game, psyching out the opposition. But our returns are very positive.
"I took the fifth seat in South Belfast, not the last seat. I also beat Sinn Féin in the Westminster elections and that was only a year-and-a-half ago.
"They're also saying Jane's not going to hold her seat, but we're very confident from the pollster research we're doing that she most certainly will."
She said the PR system would also favour smaller alternative parties like the Women's Coalition, which would attract a high number of transfers. "Our own research suggests that our record, our unique perspective and the work of our seven candidates will result in increased support for the Women's Coalition.
"We expect to hold our two seats and increase our vote in every single constituency where we are standing. We believe this vote will translate into extra seats for our party," Ms McWilliams said.
She also criticised the stalling of talks during the assembly election and claimed that a "culture of failure" in Northern politics led to the process being deliberately closed down.
She believed that a "collective nurturing process" between parties was needed, but she was confident that the positive experiences of co-operative work during the last assembly would spur parties on towards a solution.
"You will find that people who have tasted the prize of positive working relationships will look for it once again," she said.
The Women's Coalition manifesto prioritises education and health reform, with the party backing plans to scrap the 11-plus selection exam for secondary schools.
Describing the system as antiquated, Ms McWilliams said it contributed to a situation where Northern Ireland had one of the biggest educational inequality problems in Europe, with one in four people leaving school functionally illiterate.
The manifesto also highlights lack of acute hospital beds, identifying a lack of respite and community care as a major contributor to the problem. It also outlines plans for 24-hour psychiatric service to deal with the rising problem of mental health issues among homeless and other at-risk groups.
Ms McWilliams also said the party hoped to tackle the rising problem of racism towards ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland.
"There wasn't a murder in this country in the past year, but there are more and more attacks taking place against the elderly and Chinese people returning home from work at night.
"These are issues, and particularly scary issues at that. We are becoming a very racist society in Northern Ireland," Ms McWilliams said.