Welcome to the Election Observer – our dedicated guide providing voters with all the information they need to know ahead of elections on Thursday May 5.
Polling stations are open from 7am and close at 10pm, giving voters the opportunity to pick who they want to represent their local area and region as Assembly Member.
Where the National Assembly for Wales is concerned, each voter gets two votes.
As indicated in the infographic below, two-thirds of the Assembly is made up of Assembly Members from each of the 40 constituencies around Wales.
Caerphilly County Borough covers three – Caerphilly, Islwyn, and Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney.
Each constituency is represented by one Assembly Member who is elected by simply gaining the most votes.
Voters also decide on which party, or independent candidate, they would like to be represented in the 20 regional seats.
Each political party puts forward a list of candidates for each of the five regions which Wales is split into.
Caerphilly comes under South Wales East, and is represented by four Regional AMs.
They are elected through the proportional representation system, which is normally done once the results of the constituency ballots have been confirmed.
This is because the amount of votes a party has received in one region is then divided by the number of AMs it has won in the constituencies within that region, plus one.
The party with the highest total gets the seat, and the candidate on top of the winning party’s list is elected.
The pattern continues until all four regional seats are filled.
Confused about the regional election process? Here’s an example
If Party A receives 80,000 votes across South Wales East, and has seven AMs in constituency seats in that region, then it is 80,000 ÷ (7+1) = 10,000.
If Party B receives 60,000 votes across the same region, with just one AM in a constituency seat, then 60,000 ÷ (1+1)= 30,000.
The candidate at the top of Party B’s regional list would win one of the four South Wales East seats available.
While it may be a confusing system to get your head around, it does ensure that the final make-up of the Assembly represents the level of support for each party across the whole of Wales.
The Welsh Government
The party with the most seats in the Assembly will usually go on to form the Welsh Government (renamed from the Welsh Assembly Government in 2011 to avoid confusion), though minority governments or coalitions may be formed if one party holds half or less of the Assembly seats.
AMs who are not part of the formed government scrutinise policies and laws proposed by the Welsh Government to make sure they are in the best interest of Wales.
The National Assembly for Wales can also make laws, and votes on how the government spends its budget.
Meet the constituency candidates
Police and Crime Commissioner election: Meet the Gwent candidates
