Sinn Féin's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness caused surprise when he named the four-member team he will nominate for positions in the power-sharing executive at Stormont.
MLA for Newry Armagh Megan Fearon and Chris Haazard, who represents South Down, were named along with Michelle O’Neill, who was minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the outgoing executive, and South Belfast MLA Máirtín Ó Muilleoir.
There will be no ministerial position for senior party figures including Conor Murphy, Alex Maskey, John O'Dowd, Gerry Kelly and Michelle Gildernew.
Carál Ní Chuilín is being appointed as group leader and Assembly party whip.
The portfolios the nominees will hold in the Executive will be determined tomorrow when Sinn Féin and the DUP make their selections during a session of the Assembly.
There is growing speculation that Independent Assembly member Clare Sugden will be offered the justice portfolio.
During a news conference, Mr McGuinness said the new executive will be formed, in the main, by Sinn Féin and the DUP.
When asked if this was confirmation that Ms Sugden would be offered the justice job, he said he was not speaking from a prepared script.
When asked had he made a slip, he said no.
Prince Charles meets Foster, McGuinness on NI visit
Earlier, Mr McGuinness described his meeting with Britain's Prince Charles in Hillsborough as another important engagement in the work of peace-making and reconciliation.
In relation to the planned visit by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla to Co Donegal tomorrow, Mr McGuinness said these things are important and we are all on a journey, not least the royal family in relation to Ireland.
He said they have suffered as a result of the conflict in Ireland and we too have suffered as the result of the activities of British forces and British governments in Ireland, but the peace process has changed everything.
Mr McGuinness said it has given us the opportunity to ensure that our society continues to move forward to a more peaceful and reconciled relationship.
The Prince of Wales met Northern Ireland's political leaders on the second day of his visit to the region.
He held private and separate meetings with First Minister Arlene Foster and Mr McGuinness in two 20-minute behind-closed-doors encounters at Hillsborough Castle.
The leaders updated him on the current political and economic situation in Northern Ireland.
Speaking about the itinerary of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in Co Donegal tomorrow, Mr McGuinness said they will see the great work being done at Letterkenny Institute of Technology and to spend time at Glenveagh National Park is a great treat.
In the evening, the royal couple will also host a musical evening at Hillsborough Castle.
The visit to the Republic is at the request of the Government and follows the royal couple's trip this time last year when the Prince toured Mullaghmore in Co Sligo where his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten was murdered by the IRA in 1979.
A spokesman for the Prince said: "The visits will recognise the warm friendship that exists between both countries, promoting understanding of their respective heritage and celebrating the best that each has to offer."
Charles arrived in Belfast yesterday, when he was given a glimpse into the high-tech world of internet security during a visit to Queen's University's first Global Research Institute at the Science Park in Belfast's Titanic Quarter.
