Politicians from across the political divide in Northern Ireland have stepped up their demands for the government to set a date for the Stormont elections.

On the day that the elections should have gone ahead, political parties say ministers must move swiftly to fill the political vacuum in the province.

The government decided to delay the election following the IRA's failure to give a cast iron assurance that it would turn its back on violence for good.

But Sinn Fein is warning that the government is playing a dangerous game with the fragile peace process.

"Today hundreds of thousands of people throughout the six counties should be going to the polls to elect 108 assembly members and a new cross-party executive," said Mitchel McLaughlin.

"Instead the British government have cancelled the elections, shut down the political institutions and created a dangerous political vacuum.

"The cancelling of the elections is wrong and was taken against the wishes of people across the island of Ireland.

"It is imperative that the British government reverse this decision and set a date for the assembly elections. I am calling on people to come and demand the right to vote."

Over recent weeks the DUP has also added its voice to demands for a firm date to be set.

"The truth is that this prime minister will only allow an election he thinks will deliver the result he wants. This is similar to his attitude to a referendum on the euro," said DUP member of parliament Iris Robinson.

"The government needs to come to terms with the reality that the Belfast Agreement is dead - it has failed and cannot be saved.

"A new deal is needed and the sooner the process of negotiating starts the better. The government cannot run from the electorate for ever. It is time to let the people speak."