With just over three months until Fermanagh South Tyrone and the rest of Northern Ireland head to the polls, questions are beginning to be raised about who will be contesting this year’s Assembly Election.

Many contenders have already set out their stall, with this week seeing two more would-be candidates revealed – Cross Community Labour Alternative (CCLA) candidate and Enniskillen Councillor Dónal O’Cofaigh, and Alex Elliott, for Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV).

Many parties have already declared, with a number of familiar faces also in the mix including Sinn Féin, which selected all three incumbent MLAs – Jemma Dolan, Colm Gildernew and Áine Murphy – back in March, 2021.

Other early selections included a flurry of selections last October for other parties. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) selected Erne West Councillor Adam Gannon, with another early declarer courtesy of the Alliance Party, which selected Matthew Beaumont.

November saw Ulster Unionist Party's (UUP) selection of current MLA Rosemary Barton, and former MP, Tom Elliott.

However, one party that is still remaining tight-lipped is the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

There is widespread speculation that incumbent DUP MLA Deborah Erskine will contest the election for Fermanagh South Tyrone, but questions arise over whether anyone will join her on the ticket, with some speculating that Aughnacloy man Paul Bell will join Mrs. Erskine on the ticket.

Mr. Bell is the former Chairman of the local constituency association and has been a party member for more than 20 years.

He came to prominence last year when he resigned from the party briefly over the treatment of former leader and Fermanagh South Tyrone MLA Arlene Foster, before later rejoining the party.

Mr. Bell spoke to the media at the time of his dramatic resignation where he and other senior DUP members left the ratification convention of Edwin Poots as DUP leader.

Referring to the party 's move against Arlene Foster, he said: “This is going to be a real problem for the DUP. The votes that are going to be shed by the DUP is not in their hundreds, it’s in their thousands. It’s in their tens of thousands.

“We cannot go round the doors – the people in Fermanagh and South Tyrone will vote for anyone but the DUP. That is because not of an election, that is because of what took place before the election.”

Other parties which are likely to throw their hat in the ring include Aontú, with some sources suggesting that Deputy Leader and Mid-Ulster Councillor Denise Mullen is likely to contest the election.