Voting has closed in the Welsh Assembly elections.
Sixty Assembly Members will be elected in total made up of 40 constituencies and 20 regional AMs
Caerphilly County Borough covers three constituencies – Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Caerphilly and Islwyn.
At the polling booth, voters got three ballot papers. One to vote for their constituency Assembly Member, one to vote for their Regional Assembly Members, in this instance South Wales East, and another for the referendum on voting reform in the UK Parliament.
The referendum asked whether to ditch the first-past-the-post system for electing MPs in favour of the Alternative Vote system. The referendum will not change the way Assembly Members are chosen in Wales.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPFIpeiq5Uc
Polling stations opened at 7am and closed at 10pm. The first results will be announced during the night.
List of candidates and parties for May 5 – Click on the links for related stories about the candidates
Caerphilly
Jeff Cuthbert – Labour
Kay David – Liberal Democrat
Ron Davies – Plaid Cymru
Anthony King – British National Party
Owen Meredith – Conservative
Islwyn
David Chipp – Conservative
Steffan Lewis – Plaid Cymru
Gwyn Price – Labour
Tom Sullivan – Liberal Democrat
Peter Whalley – British National Party
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
Amy Kitcher – Liberal Democrat
Huw Lewis – Labour
Chris O’Brien – Conservative
Tony Rogers – Independent
Noel Turner – Plaid Cymru
Dear Caerphilly Residents,
Today you will decide our future.
Polling stations across Caerphilly are now open and you have the chance to vote in this important Welsh Assembly election.
Throughout this campaign I have set out my plan to work with you to make a positive change for Caerphilly. Today, we have a once in a lifetime chance to make that plan reality.
With rising unemployment; falling school standards; and growing waiting lists in our hospitals, more than ever we need a positive change for Caerphilly.
I know many of you may have never voted Conservative before and I respect that. But this election is not about party politics – it is about Caerphilly’s future and who can be an ambassador for Caerphilly and deliver the real change we need.
By now you know the six key pledges I have made and the positive actions I would take as your AM to make Caerphilly a better place to live, work and visit for everyone. This is my contract with you.
It is time to do things differently. Please lend me your vote today and judge me by my record against these pledges.
Thank you and best wishes,
Owen Meredith
p.s. Don’t forget, the Conservatives came second here in the general election – we can win! With your support we can begin making those positive changes tomorrow.
A very impressive, persuasive campaign by Owen Meredith. Even if he does not win on this occasion I am sure that we will hear more of him in future.
I am less impressed by the campaigns of the other candidates who were either more interested personalities or, like the Liberals, invisible. Caerffili used to be a Liberal parliamentary seat but I have not received a single leaflet. The BNP made more effort in attracting votes. Could we be witnessing the final days of the Liberals as a party?