SINN Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness plans to stand for election in his home city in what appears to be a direct challenge to the new SDLP leadership in Derry.
Mr McGuinness has been an assembly member for Mid Ulster since 1998 and was previously MP for the constituency before resigning his Westminster seat three years ago.
His decision to run in Foyle, where Sinn Féin has two assembly seats to the SDLP's three, is seen as a bid to stymie any lift for the latter under new leader and Derryman Colum Eastwood. Sinn Féin is similarly wary of the electoral threat from independents in Derry, such as Gary Donnelly, who topped the local government poll in the city in 2014.
Republicans are also optimistic that they could take a third seat in Foyle, after Sinn Féin's overall share of the vote at the 2011 Stormont poll was just over one per cent behind the SDLP.
Mr McGuinness is expected to formally confirm his candidacy at a party meeting in Derry's Millennium Forum on Saturday. His running mates in May's election are expected to be sitting Foyle MLAs Maeve McLaughlin and Raymond McCartney.
