Senedd Election 2026 – All You Need to Know
When do the elections take place?
Voting for the 2026 Senedd election takes place on Thursday, May 7, from 7am to 10pm. The votes will then be counted in the daytime on Friday, May 8.
Election notices will be updated here when they have been made.
Who can vote in the elections?
To vote in the Senedd election, you must be:
- Registered to vote (If you’re not already registered).
- 16 or over on the day of the election – 7 May 2026.
- A British, Irish, or qualifying Commonwealth citizen, EU citizen or a qualifying Foreign citizen.
Key Dates
Please find a list below of the key dates you might need to be aware of:
- Register to vote deadline – midnight on Monday, April 20.
- New postal votes deadline – 5pm on Tuesday, April 21.
- New proxy votes deadline – 5pm on Tuesday, April 28.
Where is my Polling Station?
This information will be listed on voters’ poll cards. Residents can also us the ‘Polling Station Finder’ on our website.
What are the changes to the voting system in 2026?
The Senedd website contains a bank of useful information explaining the voting system changes – please access this for full details. A short summary is included below:
There are now six seats per Senedd constituency and Merthyr Tydfil is part of the newly created Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr constituency.
The Returning Officer for Rhondda Cynon Taf is responsible for the administration of the constituency. Find out more about Voting and Elections on the Rhondda Cynon Taf Council website.
There has been a change from the ‘First Past the Post’ voting system to what is called a ‘Closed Proportional List’ system.
This will see political parties listing up to eight candidates each, and they will be listed on the ballot paper alongside the individual Independent candidates.
Each voter will get one vote, for a political party or an Independent candidate.
Candidates elected to the Senedd will be calculated using the D’Hondt method, based on the total number of votes each party receives. It uses a process of highest averages to distribute seats one-by-one until all seats are filled.