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The upcoming Senedd election is a chance to make politics more inclusive and representative of Wales’ communities, according to Justna Muhith, the Open Party’s lead candidate for the Casnewydd Islwyn constituency.

The Open Party is a relatively new movement which is running in Wales for the first time this May, focusing its efforts on the Newport and Islwyn area.

Rather than setting out concrete policies and pledges, the fledgling party is instead promising a “new way of doing politics” that gives constituents a more direct say.

Dr Muhith said voters all too often feel distance between themselves and decisions, leading to “apathy” with the system and low election turnouts.

Central to the Open Party’s mantra is “listening to the public”, she explains.

Dr Muhith was chosen as the lead candidate by party members, following a lengthy Q&A process which set out her positions on various political themes.

If the party wins any seats, she said its representatives will continue regular dialogue with voters, through town hall-style meetings and the results of a roughly 200-question survey designed to help shape their stance on issues.

“If one of us gets through, then we are responsible to the public,” she added. “We would go back to the public regularly and update them on any initiative that we’re involved in or any decisions that we’re making.”

And if she doesn’t agree personally with the majority of her constituents over a particular project or issue?

“We’re accountable to the public, and so we’ve just got to be adults about it,” she replied. “Sometimes you do have to negotiate, and you do have to consider other opinions.”

So what makes an Open Party candidate different from an independent?

Dr Muhith said the party wants to effectively build a coalition of experienced candidates from all walks of life, using their real-world knowledge to make efficient and financially responsible decisions.

“There’s a saying in business – ‘you do what you’ve always done and you get what you’ve always gotten’ – and that’s the mindset that we need to make a bit of a pivot from, because it’s exactly what we have in politics,” she said.

“There’s space for different types of voices – and we know that from all the studies that have been done out there that the more inclusive you are, the better any initiative is.”

With her own vast experience, including 20 years in commercial science – as well as achievements in law, business and community work – Dr Muhith believes candidates like herself can shake-up a system she said was dominated by career politicians who have little or no outside experience.

“Can you imagine, you’ve got experts from these different industries sat at the table, discussing what works from different perspectives,” she said. “The outcome can only be a lot better than what we have at the moment.”

Dr Muhith also said the party would “absolutely” be willing to work with any other parties after May.

“You’ve got to be open to working together, to collaborate, to bring the best out in each other,” she said. “I think when we’re able to do that, we’ll perform better for society.”

When asked about the Open Party’s policies, she said changing the political landscape was front and centre of its aims, but she also decried politicians spending large sums on “pet projects” without persuading the public they are necessary.

“I want to know that if you’re spending huge sums of money and public taxes are going up, that you’ve used the funds efficiently, you know you’ve got a rationale, you’ve got evidence to back up what you’re doing,” she said.

There is optimism, too, that from small beginnings in May the Open Party will build momentum around the UK in time for the next general election.

Polling day in Casnewydd Islwyn is “a chance for Newport and Islwyn to help modernise democracy and be part of what the Chartists tried to achieve almost 200 years ago”, she said.

“It is the small movements that can make a greater impact,” she added. “We’re not going to make a change overnight but that’s where change happens – in small spaces, small voices, and small communities that are passionate.”

Dr Muhith added the Open Party will invite the public to a march honouring the Chartists on the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend, starting at 9am on Saturday May 2 at Blackwood’s Chartist Mural when attendees will walk to Crosskeys.

Then, on Sunday, walkers will resume from Crosskeys’ Waunfawr Park at 9am, heading to the Westgate Hotel in Newport.

Justna Muhith’s pitch to the voters of Casnewydd Islwyn

“Support us to change the way that we do politics, to make it more about the people rather than a party line. We want more talented people from communities to access their way into politics, so that those that are passionate about making change – passionate about vocalising for their community – have a way in and have a seat at the table, so we can truly represent the community that we serve for our public.”

Full list of candidates in Casnewydd Islwyn

Welsh Conservatives (six candidates)

• 1. Natasha Asghar
• 2. Toby Jones
• 3. Jake Enea
• 4. Georgie Webb
• 5. Adam Morris
• 6. Rebecca Mamhende

Green Party (six candidates)

• 1. Lauren James
• 2. Philip Davies
• 3. Zaynab Greengrass
• 4. Kerry Vosper
• 5. David Mayer
• 6. Andrew Were

Heritage Party (one candidate)

• 1. Mike Ford

Open Party (two candidates)

• 1. Justna Muhith
• 2. John Horan

Plaid Cymru (six candidates)

• 1. Peredur Owen Griffiths
• 2. Lyn Ackerman
• 3. Rhys Mills
• 4. Joshua Rawcliffe
• 5. Jonathan Clark
• 6. Sarah Henton

Reform UK (six candidates)

• 1. Dan Thomas
• 2. Art Wright
• 3. Marie-Claire Lea
• 4. Nick Jones
• 5. Rebecca Senior
• 6. Tomos Llewelyn

Welsh Labour (seven candidates)

• 1. Jayne Bryant
• 2. Rhianon Passmore
• 3. Chris Carter
• 4. Rhian Howells
• 5. Julie Sangani
• 6. Stephen Marshall
• 7. David Chinnick

Welsh Liberal Democrats (six candidates)

• 1. Mike Hamilton
• 2. John Miller
• 3. Nurul Islam
• 4. Harun Rashid
• 5. Mary Lloyd
• 6. Jeff Evans

Individual candidates (one)

• Taran Clayton