How will Members be elected in 2026?
From the election on 7 May 2026, you’ll see some changes to the Senedd.
A new voting system
The new system is called a ‘closed proportional list system.’ This means the number of seats a party or independent candidate wins will more closely reflect the percentage of votes they get.
The voting process
- Political parties will prepare a list of up to eight candidates for each constituency. Independent candidates can also stand for election.
- On election day, everyone age 16 and over will have one vote for the party or independent candidate they want to represent their constituency.
- Your ballot paper will show the candidate lists for your area, so you can see who is standing for each party, along with any independent candidates.
Winning seats
- Seats will be allocated based on the share of votes each party or independent candidate receives.
- So, if Party A gets 50% of the votes in a constituency, it is likely they would get three of the six seats. If Party B gets 30%, it is likely they would get two of the six seats.
- Under the list system, if a party wins enough votes to gain three seats, the top three people on their list will be elected as Members of the Senedd.
- Independent candidates will also win seats if they have enough votes.
For a more in-depth look at how this works, see What is the D’Hondt formula?
How is this system different?
In previous Senedd elections, proportional representation was used to elect your regional Members of the Senedd.
However, a 'first past the post' system was used to elect your constituency Members. This is also the system used in UK General Elections, to elect your MP.
Under this system the person with the most votes wins. This means that only the votes for the person who won contributed to the final result.
Every vote matters
At the Senedd election in 2026, all seats will be allocated based on the share of votes each party or independent candidate gets.
The new system means that your vote is more likely to help decide the overall result, because seats in the Senedd will be allocated based on the total share of the vote.
Which means that the final make-up of the Senedd will better represent voters’ choice across Wales.
How were Members elected before 2026?
In the past, you had two votes. The first vote was to choose a candidate to represent your constituency, and the second vote was usually for a party to represent the region of Wales you lived in.
Everyone in Wales was represented by five Members. One for your constituency and four for the region of Wales you lived in. All regional and constituency Members had equal status in the Senedd.
Before the 2026 Senedd election, the Welsh Parliament had 60 Members. Forty of them were constituency Members, representing the same local constituencies as Westminster MPs. The remaining 20 were regional Members, who represented one of the five regions of Wales.
Election results
Explore the results from Senedd elections and by-elections.
