The Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025

Made: 9 July 2025

Coming into force: 18 July 2025

In accordance with section 13(7) of the Government of Wales Act 2006[^f00005], a draft of this Order was laid before, and has been approved by a resolution of, Senedd Cymru.

PART 1 — General

Title, commencement, revocation and savings provision

1

• (1) The title of this Order is the Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025.

• (2) This Order comes into force on 18 July 2025.

• (3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5) and rule 70(3) of Schedule 5, the instruments listed in Schedule 12 are revoked.

• (4) Despite the coming into force of this Order under paragraph (2), it does not have effect in relation to—

• (a) a general election the poll for which is held on or before 6 April 2026;

• (b) a Senedd returned at a general election the poll for which is held on or before 6 April 2026;

• (c) the return of a member to a Senedd mentioned in sub-paragraph (b), at a general election or otherwise.

• (5) The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2007[^f00006] continues to have effect in relation to the matters referred to in paragraph (4).

Interpretation

2

• (1) In this Order—

• “the 1983 Act” (“Deddf 1983”) means the Representation of the People Act 1983[^f00007];

• “the 2000 Political Parties Act” (“Deddf Pleidiau Gwleidyddol 2000”) means the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000;

• “the 2006 Act” (“Deddf 2006”) means the Government of Wales Act 2006;

• “the 2011 Act” (“Deddf 2011”) means the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011[^f00008];

• “the 2001 Regulations” (“Rheoliadau 2001”) means the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001[^f00009];

• “absent voter” (“pleidleisiwr absennol”) means an elector who is entitled to vote by proxy, or an elector or proxy who is entitled to vote by post, and “absent vote” (“pleidlais absennol”) is to be construed accordingly;

• “anonymous entry” (“cofnod dienw”), in relation to a register, is to be construed in accordance with section 9B of the 1983 Act[^f00010];

• “available for inspection” (“ar gael i edrych arno”) means available for inspection during ordinary office hours;

• “candidate” (“ymgeisydd”) means an individual candidate or a party list candidate for return as a Senedd member;

• “the Clerk” (“y Clerc”) is to be construed in accordance with section 26 of the 2006 Act[^f00011];

• “constituency election” (“etholiad etholaethol”) means an election to return a Senedd member for a Senedd constituency;

• “date of the allowance of an authorised excuse” (“dyddiad caniatáu esgus awdurdodedig”) has the meaning given by article 60(10);

• “declaration as to election expenses” (“datganiad ynghylch treuliau etholiad”) means a declaration made under article 55 or 56;

• “disability” (“anabledd”) in relation to doing a thing, includes the short-term inability to do it;

• “election court” (“llys etholiadol”) means a special court of presiding judges convened to determine the petition against the result of a Senedd election;

• “elector” (“etholwr”), except in articles 9, 10 and 67 and rule 36 of Schedule 5, means any person whose name is for the time being on the register to be used at a Senedd election or, in the case of a person who has an anonymous entry in the register, in the record of anonymous entries, but does not include those shown on the register as below voting age on the day fixed for the poll;

• “electoral number” (“rhif etholiadol”) means a person’s number in the register to be used at the election or, pending publication of the register, that person’s number, if any, in the electors’ lists for that register;

• “individual candidate” (“ymgeisydd unigol”) means a candidate at a Senedd election other than a party list candidate;

• “legal incapacity” (“anghymhwyster cyfreithiol”) means any disqualification from voting imposed by this Order or by any other enactment;

• “legal process” (“proses gyfreithiol”) means a claim form, application notice, writ, summons or other similar process;

• “list of proxies” (“rhestr dirprwyon”), in relation to a Senedd election, has the meaning given by article 8(3);

• “local authority (“awdurdod lleol”)—in relation to articles 25, 113(1)(b), 124(1)(b) and 124(2) and paragraph 6 of Schedule 3, means a county council, county borough council or community council in Wales, andin all other instances, means a county council or county borough council in Wales;

• “local government election” (“etholiad llywodraeth leol”) means an election listed in article 15(2);

• “money” (“arian”), except in articles 43, 80 and 81 and Schedule 6, and “pecuniary reward” (“gwobr ariannol”) are deemed to include—any office, place or employment,any valuable security or other equivalent of money, andany valuable consideration,and expressions referring to money are to be construed accordingly;

• “nomination paper” (“papur enwebu”) means an individual nomination paper or a party nomination paper;

• “party list” (“rhestr plaid”) means a list of not more than eight candidates, but it may be a list of only one candidate, to be a Senedd member or Senedd members for a Senedd constituency which is to be or has been submitted to a returning officer by a registered political party;

• “party list candidate” (“ymgeisydd rhestr plaid”) means a candidate included on a party list;

• “payment” (“taliad”) includes any pecuniary or other reward;

• “police and crime commissioner election” (“etholiad comisiynydd heddlu a throseddu”) means an election under Chapter 6 of Part 1 of the 2011 Act;

• “police area” (“ardal heddlu”) means a police area in Wales listed in Schedule 1 to the Police Act 1996[^f00012] (police areas);

• “postal ballot paper” (“papur pleidleisio drwy’r post”) means a ballot paper issued to a postal voter;

• “postal voter” (“pleidleisiwr drwy’r post”) means an elector or proxy who is entitled to vote by post;

• “postal voters list” (“rhestr pleidleiswyr drwy’r post”) means the list kept under article 8(2);

• “presiding officer” (“swyddog llywyddu”), in relation to a polling station, means a person appointed under rule 35 of Schedule 5;

• “Presiding Officer of the Senedd” (“Llywydd y Senedd”) is to be construed in accordance with section 25 of the 2006 Act[^f00013];

• “proxy postal voter” (“dirprwy sy’n pleidleisio drwy’r post”) means a person entitled to vote by post as proxy at an election;

• “proxy postal voters list” (“rhestr pleidleiswyr drwy’r post drwy ddirprwy”) means the list kept under article 10(8);

• “qualifying address” (“cyfeiriad cymhwysol”) has the same meaning as in section 9(8)(b) of the 1983 Act[^f00014];

• “qualifying Commonwealth citizen” (“dinesydd cymhwysol o’r Gymanwlad”) means a Commonwealth citizen who either—is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971[^f00015] to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, oris such a person but for the time being has, or is by virtue of any enactment to be treated as having, any description of such leave,but a person is not a qualifying Commonwealth citizen if that person does not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom by virtue only of section 8 of the Immigration Act 1971[^f00016] (exemptions to requirement for leave in special cases);

• “qualifying foreign citizen” (“dinesydd tramor cymhwysol”) means a person who—is not a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a relevant citizen of the Union, andeither—is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, oris such a person but for the time being has, or is by virtue of any enactment to be treated as having, any description of such leave;

• “record of anonymous entries” (“cofnod o gofnodion dienw”) means the record prepared in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of paragraph 8A of Schedule 2 to the 1983 Act[^f00017];

• “register” (“cofrestr”) and “register of electors” (“cofrestr etholwyr”) means the register of local government electors maintained under section 9(1)(b) of the 1983 Act;

• “registered emblem” (“arwyddlun cofrestredig”) means an emblem registered by a registered political party under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act;

• “registered nominating officer” (“swyddog enwebu cofrestredig”) means the person registered under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act as the officer with responsibility for the matters referred to in section 24(3) of that Act in respect of a registered political party;

• “registered political party” (“plaid wleidyddol gofrestredig”) means, subject to rules 10 and 76 of Schedule 5, a party registered under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act;

• “registration officer” (“swyddog cofrestru”) means an electoral registration officer under section 8 of the 1983 Act[^f00018];

• “relevant citizen of the Union” (“dinesydd perthnasol o’r Undeb”) means a citizen of the Union who is not a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, and “citizen of the Union” (“dinesydd o’r Undeb”) is to be construed in accordance with article 20(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[^f00019];

• “relevant registration officer” (“swyddog cofrestru perthnasol”) is to be construed in accordance with sections 42(1) and 44(1) to (3) and (5) of the Electoral Administration Act 2006[^f00020];

• “returning officer” (“swyddog canlyniadau”) means the officer who, in accordance with article 18, is the returning officer for a Senedd constituency;

• “Senedd” (“Senedd”) has the same meaning as in section 1(1) of the 2006 Act[^f00021];

• “Senedd constituency” (“etholaeth Senedd”) is to be construed in accordance with section 2 of the 2006 Act[^f00022];

• “Senedd election” (“etholiad i’r Senedd”) means a Senedd constituency election;

• “Senedd election petition” (“deiseb etholiad ar gyfer etholiad i’r Senedd”) means a petition presented in pursuance of Part 4 of this Order;

• “Senedd election rules” (“rheolau etholiadau’r Senedd”) means the rules for the conduct of Senedd elections set out in Schedule 5;

• “Senedd general election” (“etholiad cyffredinol i’r Senedd”) means the holding of elections for the return of all Senedd members;

• “service voter” (“pleidleisiwr gwasanaeth”) means a person who has made a service declaration in accordance with section 15 of the 1983 Act[^f00023] and is registered or entitled to be registered in pursuance of it;

• “statement of parties and persons nominated” (“datganiad o’r pleidiau a’r personau a enwebwyd”) means a statement prepared in accordance with rule 17 of Schedule 5;

• “sub-agent” (“is-asiant”) has the meaning given by article 40(1);

• “UK Parliamentary constituency” (“etholaeth Seneddol y DU”) means a constituency specified in an Order in Council made under section 4 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986[^f00024];

• “universal service provider” (“darparwr gwasanaeth cyffredinol”) means a universal service provider within the meaning of Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011[^f00025];

• “voter” (“pleidleisiwr”) means a person voting at a Senedd election and includes a person voting as proxy and, except in Schedule 5, a person voting by proxy, and “vote” (“pleidlais” and “pleidleisio”), whether noun or verb, is to be construed accordingly, except that in that Schedule any reference to an elector voting or an elector’s vote includes a reference to an elector voting by proxy or elector’s vote given by proxy, and absent vote is to be construed accordingly;

• “voting age” (“oedran pleidleisio”) means 16 years of age or over.

• (2) For the purposes of this Order a person is to be deemed not to have attained a given age until the commencement of the relevant anniversary of the day of their birth.

PART 2 — Senedd Cymru franchise and its exercise

Registration and absent voting

3

• (1) Subject to giving notice of the appeal in accordance with paragraph 13(1) of Schedule 1, an appeal from any decision of the registration officer under this Order disallowing a person’s application to vote—

• (a) by proxy or by post as elector, or

• (b) by post as proxy,

lies to the county court in any case where the application is not made for a particular Senedd election only.

• (2) No appeal lies from the decision of the Court of Appeal on appeal from a decision of the county court under this article.

• (3) If an appeal under this article or section 56 of the 1983 Act[^f00026] is pending when notice of a Senedd election is given—

• (a) the appeal does not prejudice the operation of the decision appealed against for that election, and

• (b) anything done in pursuance of the decision will be as good as if no such appeal had been brought.

• (4) Notice must be sent to the registration officer in the manner provided by rules of court of the decision of the county court or of the Court of Appeal on any appeal by virtue of this article, and the registration officer must make such alterations in the—

• (a) record kept under article 6(4), or

• (b) record kept under article 10(6),

as may be required to give effect to the decision.

• (5) Where, as a result of the decision on an appeal under this article or section 56 of the 1983 Act, an alteration in the register or record takes effect under this article or under section 13(5), 13A(2) or 13B(3) or (3B) of the 1983 Act[^f00027] on or before the date of the poll, paragraph (3) does not apply to that appeal as respects that election.

• (6) On an appeal brought under this article, the registration officer is deemed to be a party to the proceedings, and the registration expenses payable to a registration officer must include any expenses properly incurred by the registration officer under this paragraph.

Polling districts and places at Senedd elections

4

• (1) For the purpose of Senedd elections every constituency must be divided into polling districts.

• (2) For each polling district there must be a polling place, unless the size or other circumstances of a polling district are such that the situation of the polling stations does not materially affect the convenience of the electors, or any body of them.

• (3) Subject to paragraph (4), the polling districts and polling places designated under this article must be the same as those used or designated under sections 18A and 18B of the 1983 Act[^f00028] (polling districts and polling places at parliamentary elections).

• (4) Where it appears to the local authority, or local authorities, for the area of a polling district or polling place that it is desirable for some other polling district or polling place to be designated for the purpose of a Senedd election, the local authority may so designate that other polling district or polling place.

• (5) An election may not be questioned by reason of—

• (a) any non-compliance with the provisions of this article, or

• (b) any irregularity relating to polling districts or polling places.

Manner of voting at Senedd elections

5

• (1) This article applies to determine the manner of voting of a person (“P1”) entitled to vote as an elector at a Senedd election.

• (2) P1 may vote in person at the polling station allotted to P1 under this Order, unless P1 is entitled as an elector to an absent vote at a Senedd election.

• (3) P1 may vote by post if P1 is entitled as an elector to vote by post at a Senedd election.

• (4) Subject to paragraph (5), P1 may vote by proxy if P1 is entitled to vote by proxy at a Senedd election.

• (5) If a ballot paper has not been issued for P1 to vote by proxy, P1 may apply at the polling station allotted to P1 under this Order for a ballot paper to vote in person and vote in person there.

• (6) P1 may vote in person at any polling station in the Senedd constituency for which the election is being held if—

• (a) P1 is not entitled as an elector to an absent vote at the election, but

• (b) P1 cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to polling station allotted to P1 under this Order by reason of P1’s employment on the date of the poll, either as a constable or by a returning officer, for a purpose connected with the election.

• (7) In paragraph (6), the reference to a constable includes a person designated as a community support officer under section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002[^f00029] (police powers for civilian staff and volunteers).

• (8) Nothing in the preceding provisions of this article applies to a person (“P2”)—