The Strangford MLA said this week’s Assembly vote on the Windsor Framework, which passed with a simple majority, was the first time votes of ‘others’ in the chamber had been treated the same as other MLAs on a major issue.

She said Alliance calls for reform of the system, which is currently based on community designations and effectively ignores non-unionist or nationalists, should now be heeded and a weighted majority system free from designations be put in place instead.

“For the first time on a serious issue of magnitude, votes of non-unionists and non-nationalists counted just as much as every other MLA in the Assembly. That to date has not been the case,” said Ms Armstrong.

“Cross-community votes in the Assembly are the least cross-community of any vote here, excluding the votes of those who are in a cross-community party and who make up almost 20 per cent of MLAs. Those MLAs represent tens of thousands of voters, who are essentially disenfranchised and disrespected by the system.

“In most democracies, the vote of each elected representative counts equally on issues such as budgets. But in Northern Ireland, our system discriminates against a number of those representatives, who want to advocate for the public on every matter, not just selected ones.

“As a cross-community party, we are committed to cross-community voting, not by majoritarianism but by using weighted majority voting, which is a much better system. Excluding the third-largest party in the Chamber, and a party in government, from so-called cross-community votes creates a democratic deficit.

“The desire for a united society where everyone is treated equally is growing across Northern Ireland. The days of defining our politics in purely binary terms are over, but the Assembly continues to represent institutionalised division week-in and week-out through its outdated designation system. It is beyond time Alliance’s calls for reform of the system, so unionist, nationalist and other votes are counted equally at all times, are heeded.”