The race for the leadership of Manitoba's NDP is tightening as the two candidates seeking to take the reigns enter the final stretch of the campaign.

Party members will choose either Steve Ashton or Greg Selinger as the new leader, and premier, during a convention Oct. 16-17 and Winnipeg.

A delegate system is being used for voting.

Selection meetings across the province in the past three weeks have allowed party members to choose delegates. Each delegate represents 10 party members.

'We do still think it's a race, no question about it. But we do believe that we have a reasonable lead at this stage.'—Greg Selinger

Ashton, the MLA for Thompson, estimated he was about 90 delegates behind Selinger as of Sunday. But Selinger's team puts that number a little higher, at about 130.

"We do still think it's a race, no question about it. But we do believe that we have a reasonable lead at this stage," said Selinger, the MLA for St. Boniface.

Ashton made up significant ground on the weekend following a delegate selection meeting in the Maples neighbourhood of Winnipeg.

Officials with his campaign say they clinched 135 of the 138 delegate seats up for grabs.

'There's no doubt that our campaign has a real chance for victory, not that we're taking anything for granted,'—Steve Ashton

"There's no doubt that our campaign has a real chance for victory, not that we're taking anything for granted," Ashton said.

The candidates are focusing their efforts on the party's youth wing. There are 108 delegate seats available at a meeting set for Tuesday.

Selinger said there are two reasons that meeting is so important.

"One, it's a large number of delegates, obviously, and secondly, the youth wing of the party is very important because it's the future," he said. "So, you obviously want to win support from that part of the NDP."

Misconduct alleged

Officials in Ashton's campaign are asking for new delegate meetings in the ridings of Riel, Inkster and Elmwood, alleging misconduct took place in the previous meetings.

Officials with Ashton's campaign told CBC News that those meetings were held in venues that were too small with poor parking. They also allege that typically lax registration deadlines were strictly enforced, shutting some party members out of the vote.

Lorraine Sigurdson, president of Manitoba's NDP, said Saturday the allegations are being investigated.

Selinger and Ashton will also appear Monday evening at a free public forum with a focus on poverty and inner-city issues. It is scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the University of Winnipeg's Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall.

Both Selinger and Ashton resigned from cabinet positions to seek the leadership when outgoing Premier Gary Doer announced he was stepping down. He has since been named Canada's next ambassador to the U.S.