Cllr Máire Hendron said: “The vote in Belfast City Council on Tuesday was about fairness and ensuring that pacts do not dictate how the Council will work.
“Alliance represents everyone and we will do all we can to ensure that Belfast City Council works on the basis of what people voted for in the recent elections. The DUP-UUP pact plan is a kneejerk move that takes us back 20 years.
“The DUP and Ulster Unionists should be concentrating on creating a shared future instead of trying to use the negative tactic of creating a pact.
“The DUP are now afraid of the outworking of the D’Hondt mechanism for the appointment of Lord Mayor which they helped introduce. Alliance respects and has respected mandate of all parties without any mechanism in place and we have always delivered powersharing. The DUP, despite sharing power at Stormont, seem to have a problem with doing this at Belfast City Council.
“The DUP and UUP need to take a long look at themselves and realise that the pact that they proposed is simply not what the people of Belfast voted for.
“Ever since Alliance has held the balance of power at Belfast City Council every decision we have taken has been done on the basis of fairness and our vision and hard work have helped improve community relations. We will continue to lead change to create a shared future and will continue to take the decisions we believe are right for everyone in Belfast.”
ENDS