Legalize / United Kingdom / Public General Act

Government of Wales Act 2006

Type Public General Act

Publication 2006-07-25

State In force

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API

Part 1 — Senedd Cymru

The Senedd

Power to call

1

(1) There is to be a parliament for Wales to be known as Senedd Cymru or the Welsh Parliament (referred to in this Act as “the Senedd.

(2) There are—

(a) 16 Senedd constituencies, and

(b) six seats for each constituency, and

the Senedd is to consist of the members for those constituencies.

(2A) Members of the Senedd are to be known by that name or as Aelodau o'r Senedd.

(3) Members of the Senedd are to be returned in accordance with the provision made by and under this Act for—

(a) the holding of general elections of Members of the Senedd (for the return of the entire Senedd), and

(b) the filling of vacancies in Senedd seats.

(4) The validity of any Senedd proceedings is not affected by any vacancy in its membership.

(5) In this Act “Senedd proceedings” means any proceedings of—

(a) the Senedd,

(b) committees of the Senedd, or

Referendum about commencement of Assembly Act provisions

2

(1) The Senedd constituencies are the constituencies specified in regulations under section 49J of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru etc. Act 2013 (anaw 4).

(2) Until the first set of regulations made under‍‍ that section takes effect, the reference in subsection (1) above to regulations under that section is to be read as a reference to regulations under paragraph 9 of Schedule 2 to the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (asc 4).

General elections

Overview of Part 4A

3

(1) The poll at an ordinary general election is to be held on the first Thursday in May in the fourth calendar year following that in which the previous ordinary general election was held, unless—

(a) subsection (1A) prevents the poll being held on that day, or

(b) the day of the poll is determined by a proclamation under section 4.

(1A) The poll is not to be held on the same date as the date of the poll at—

(a) a parliamentary general election ..., ...

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1B) Where subsection (1A) prevents the poll being held on the day specified in subsection (1), the poll is to be held on such day, subject to subsection (1A), as the Welsh Ministers may by order specify unless the day of the poll is determined by a proclamation under section 4(2) as modified by section 4(2A).

(2) If the poll is to be held on the first Thursday in May or on the day specified by an order under subsection (1B) , the Senedd —

(a) is dissolved by virtue of this section at the beginning of the minimum period which ends with that day, and

(b) must meet within the period of fourteen days beginning immediately after the day of the poll.

(3) In subsection (2) “the minimum period” means the period determined in accordance with an order under section 13.

(4) In calculating any period of days for the purposes of subsection (2)(b), the following days are to be disregarded—

(a) Saturday and Sunday,

(b) any day which is a bank holiday in Wales under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 (c. 80), and

(5) No order is to be made under subsection (1B) unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, the Senedd.

Power to vary date of ordinary general election

4

(1) Subject to section 3(1A), the Presiding Officer may propose, for the holding of the poll at an ordinary general election, a day which is not more than one month earlier, nor more than one month later, than the first Thursday in May.

(2) If the Presiding Officer proposes a day under subsection (1), Her Majesty may by proclamation under the Welsh Seal—

(a) dissolve the Senedd,

(b) require the poll at the election to be held on the day proposed, and

(2A) Where a day is specified by an order under section 3(1B), subsection (1) applies as if the reference to the first Thursday in May were a reference to that day.

(3) In calculating any period of days for the purposes of provision made by virtue of subsection (2)(c), the following days are to be disregarded—

(a) Saturday and Sunday,

(b) Good Friday,

(d) any day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.

(4) The Welsh Ministers may by order make provision for—

(a) any provision of, or made under, the Representation of the People Acts, or

(b) any other enactment relating to the election of Members of the Senedd ,

to have effect with such modifications or exceptions as the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate in connection with the alteration of the day of the poll under this section .

(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) A statutory instrument containing an order under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Senedd.

Extraordinary general elections

5

(1) The Presiding Officer must propose a day for the holding of a poll at an extraordinary general election if subsection (2) or (3) applies.

(2) This subsection applies if—

(a) the Senedd resolves that it should be dissolved, and

(b) the resolution of the Senedd is passed on a vote in which the number of Members of the Senedd voting in favour of it is not less than two-thirds of the total number of Senedd seats.

(3) This subsection applies if any period during which the Senedd is required under section 47 to nominate a Member of the Senedd for appointment as the First Minister ends without such a nomination being made.

(4) If the Presiding Officer proposes a day under subsection (1), Her Majesty may by proclamation under the Welsh Seal—

(a) dissolve the Senedd and require an extraordinary general election to be held,

(b) require the poll at the election to be held on the day proposed, and

(5) If a poll is held under this section within the period of six months ending with the day on which the poll at the next ordinary general election would be held (disregarding section 4), that ordinary general election is not to be held.

(6) But subsection (5) does not affect the year in which the subsequent ordinary general election is to be held.

(7) In calculating any period of days for the purposes of subsection (4)(c), the following days are to be disregarded—

(a) Saturday and Sunday,

(b) Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Good Friday,

(d) any day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.

Voting at general elections

6

(1) Each person entitled to vote at a general election in a Senedd constituency may give a vote for—

(a) a registered political party that has submitted a list of candidates to be Members of the Senedd for the constituency, or

(b) an individual who is a candidate (“an individual candidate”) to be a Member of the Senedd for the constituency.

(2) An order under section 13 must provide for the ballot paper used at a general election in a Senedd constituency to include the names of the candidates who stand nominated to be Members of the Senedd for the constituency.

(‍3) In this Act “registered political party” means a party registered under Part 2 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. ‍41).

Candidates at general elections

7

(1) A registered political party may submit a list of candidates to be Members of the Senedd for a particular Senedd constituency at a general election.

(2) The list must be submitted to the constituency returning officer.

(3) The list must not include more than eight people (but may include only one).

(4) The list must not include a person—

(a) who is included on another list submitted under this section (whether for the constituency or another constituency);

(b) who is an individual candidate to be a Member of the Senedd (whether for the constituency or another constituency).

(5) A person may not be an individual candidate to be a Member of the Senedd for a constituency if that person is—

(a) included on a list submitted under this section (whether for the constituency or another constituency);

(b) an individual candidate to be a Member of the Senedd for another constituency.

(6) In this Act “constituency returning officer”, in relation to a Senedd constituency, means the person designated as the returning officer for the constituency in accordance with an order under section 13 (power of the Welsh Ministers to make provision about elections etc.).

Calculation of electoral region figures

8

(1) This section and section 9 are about the allocation, to registered political parties or individual candidates, of the seats for a Senedd constituency at a general election.

(2) For each registered political party by which a list of candidates has been submitted under section 7 (candidates at general elections) for the constituency—

(a) the votes given in the constituency for the party are to be added up, and

(b) the number arrived at under paragraph (a) is to be divided by the seat allocation divisor.

(3) On the first calculation for a party under subsection (2)(b), the seat allocation divisor for the party is one (section 9 makes provision about recalculations under that subsection with an increased divisor).

(4) For each individual candidate to be a Member of the Senedd for the constituency, the votes given in the constituency for the candidate are to be added up.

(5) The number arrived at—

(a) in the case of a registered political party, under subsection (2)(b), or

(b) in the case of an individual candidate, under subsection (4),

is referred to in section 9 as the “seat allocation figure” for that party or individual candidate.

Allocation of seats to electoral region members

9

(1) The first seat for a Senedd constituency is to be allocated to the registered political party or individual candidate with the highest seat allocation figure.

(2) The second and subsequent seats for the constituency are to be allocated to the party or individual candidate with the highest seat allocation figure after any recalculation required by subsection (3) has been carried out.

(3) This subsection requires a recalculation of the seat allocation figure for a registered political party—

(a) for the first application of subsection (2), if the application of subsection (1) resulted in the allocation to the party of a seat for the constituency, or

(b) for any subsequent application of subsection (2), if the previous application of that subsection resulted in the allocation to the party of a seat for the constituency,

and each recalculation is to be carried out under section 8(2)(b) after adding one to the previous seat allocation divisor for that party.

(4) An individual candidate already allocated a seat as a Member of the Senedd for the constituency is to be disregarded when applying subsection (2).

(5) Seats for the constituency that are allocated to a party are to be filled by the candidates on the party’s list in the order in which they appear on the list.

(6) Once a party’s list has been exhausted (by the application of subsection (1) or (2)), the party is to be disregarded when applying subsection (2).

(7) If, on the application of subsection (1) or on an application of subsection (2), the highest seat allocation figure is the seat allocation figure for two or more parties or individual candidates (referred to in subsection (8) as the “tied seat allocation figure”), subsection (1) or (2) (as the case may be) applies to each of them.

(8) But if subsection (7) would mean that more than the full number of seats for the constituency were allocated, subsection (1) or (2) is not to be applied until—

(a) a recalculation of the seat allocation figure for any party with the tied seat allocation figure has been carried out under section 8(2)(b) after adding one to the number arrived at under section 8(2)(a), and

(b) one has been added to the number arrived at under section 8(4) for any individual candidate with the tied seat allocation figure.

(9) If, after that, the highest seat allocation figure is still the seat allocation figure for two or more parties or individual candidates (so it is still the case that more than the full number of seats for the constituency would be allocated), the constituency returning officer must decide between them by lots.

Vacancies

Constituency vacancies

10

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Electoral region vacancies

11

(1) This section makes provision about what is to happen if the seat of a Member of the Senedd becomes vacant.

(2) If the Member was an individual candidate when returned as a Member of the Senedd, the seat remains vacant until the next general election.

(3) If the Member was returned as a Member of the Senedd from a list submitted under section 7 by a registered political party, the constituency returning officer must notify to the Presiding Officer the name of the person (if any) who is to fill the vacancy.

(4) A person’s name may be notified under subsection (3) only if the person—

(a) is included on the list mentioned in subsection (3),

(b) is willing to serve as a Member of the Senedd, and

(5) This subsection applies to a person if—

(a) the person is not a member of the registered political party that submitted the list, and

(b) the party gives notice to the constituency returning officer that the person’s name is not to be notified to the Presiding Officer as the name of the person who is to fill the vacancy.

(6) But if there is more than one person who satisfies the conditions in subsection (4), the constituency returning officer may only notify the name of whichever of them was the higher, or the highest, on the list.

(7) If there is no-one who satisfies the conditions in subsection (4), the seat remains vacant until the next general election.

(8) A person whose name is notified under subsection (3) is to be treated as having been declared to be returned as a Member of the Senedd on the day on which notification of the person’s name is received by the Presiding Officer.

(9) For the purposes of this section, a person included on the list mentioned in subsection (3)—

(a) who was returned as a Member of the Senedd at the election for which the list was submitted (even if the return was void), or

(b) who was subsequently returned as a Member of the Senedd under this section (even if the return was void),

is treated on and after their return as not having been included on the list.

Franchise and conduct of elections

Entitlement to vote

12

(1) The persons entitled to vote at an election of Members of the Senedd ... in a Senedd constituency are those who on the day of the poll—

(a) would be entitled to vote as electors at a local government election in an electoral area wholly or partly included in the Senedd constituency ..., and

(b) are registered in the register of local government electors at an address within the Senedd constituency.

(1A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2) But a person is not entitled as an elector—

(a) to cast more than one vote in the same Senedd constituency at any general election, or

(b) to vote in more than one Senedd constituency at any general election, ...

Power to make provision about elections etc.

13

(1) The Welsh Ministers may by order make provision that would be within the legislative competence of the Senedd, if included in an Act of the Senedd, as to—

(a) the conduct of elections of Members of the Senedd,

(b) the questioning of an election of Members of the Senedd and the consequences of irregularities, and

(2) The provision that may be made under subsection (1)(a) includes, in particular, provision—

(a) about the registration of electors,

(b) for disregarding alterations in a register of electors,

(c) about the limitation of the election expenses of candidates (and the creation of criminal offences in connection with the limitation of such expenses),

(d) for the combination of polls,

(e) ... and

(f) for modifying section 9(7) to ensure the allocation of the correct number of seats for the constituency.

(3) The provision that may be made under subsection (1)(c) includes, in particular, provision modifying section 11(4) to (6).

(4) An order under this section may—

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