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Daughter of late Senedd Member Mohammad Asghar to stand in election

News, Senedd Election 2021 | Rhys Williams | Published: 16:44, Wednesday January 20th, 2021.
Last updated: 12:23, Friday April 23rd, 2021

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Natasha Asghar is second on the Welsh Conservatives' list for South Wales East
Natasha Asghar is second on the Welsh Conservatives’ list for South Wales East

The daughter of the late Senedd Member Mohammad Asghar will be standing in the upcoming Senedd Election.

Natasha Asghar is second on the Welsh Conservatives’ regional list for South Wales East.

Ms Asghar told Caerphilly Observer she was “absolutely delighted and truly elated” to be named on the list.

She said: “I’m truly touched that people have chosen me to be on the list. It’s a position close to my heart.”

Ahead of her on the list is Laura Anne Jones, who currently serves as one of four regional Senedd Members for the South Wales East region.

What is a regional Senedd Member?

Wales is divided into 40 constituencies for Senedd elections. Each consituency elects one Senedd Member through a first past the post system.

Hefin David represents the Caerphilly constituency, Rhianon Passmore represents Islwyn and Dawn Bowden represents Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney.

Then, Wales is split into five regions, each region being represented by four Senedd Members. This means there are 20 regional Senedd Members, and 60 Senedd Members in total.

The three constituencies within Caerphilly County Borough form part of the South Wales East region.

Regional members are elected using a proportional representation system, where members are selected from a list of candidates submitted by each party.

These are the current regional Senedd Members for South Wales East:

  • Delyth Jewell (Plaid Cymru)
  • Laura Anne Jones (Welsh Conservatives)
  • Mark Reckless (Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party)
  • David Rowlands (Independent Alliance for Reform)
What area does South Wales East cover?

The South Wales East region includes the following constituencies:

  • Blaenau Gwent
  • Caerphilly
  • Islwyn
  • Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
  • Monmouth
  • Newport East
  • Newport West
  • Torfaen

Ms Jones became a Senedd Member following Mr Asghar’s death in June last year. She had previously served as a Senedd Member from 2003 to 2007.

Mr Asghar, who was 74 when he died, had served in the Senedd since 2007 – becoming the first ethnic minority member elected to the institution, as well as the first Muslim Senedd Member.

Mohammad Asghar MS: “I would have expected and hoped the world had moved on from the days of direct and violent racism, and it saddens me to say, this is not the case”

The other two candidates on the Conservative list for South Wales East are Newport councillor Matthew Evans in third place and Monmouthshire councillor Nick Evans in fourth place.

Meanwhile, the Welsh Conservatives have also announced their constituency candidates for the upcoming election.

Gavin Chambers will contest the Islwyn seat, while Steven Mayfield is standing in the Caerphilly constituency.

Donna Gavin is the Conservative candidate for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney.

As part of our coverage of the upcoming Senedd Election, Caerphilly Observer will be publishing articles about the candidates for all the main parties

Senedd Members favour election going ahead in May

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Natasha Asghar/Welsh Conservatives

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