Nine political parties alongside two independent hopefuls will be competing for the newly created Sir Fynwy Torfaen seat during May’s Senedd ballot.
The May 7 vote marks the inaugural poll where the electorate will select 96 representatives rather than 60 across Wales, with voting rights extended to all individuals aged 16 and above.
For this ballot, the existing 32 Westminster divisions across Wales have been combined into 16 larger constituencies, each returning six Senedd Members to serve four-year terms.
Allocation of seats within each constituency follows the proportion of votes received by each party or individual, aiming to provide more accurate representation of voter preferences.
Parties fielding candidates submit lists containing up to eight nominees, with higher vote percentages translating to more names from their roster being elected. Calculations suggest approximately 12 percent of votes will secure one of the six available seats, with an additional 10 percent needed for each subsequent representative.
Among the major parties, only Labour has nominated more than six candidates. The Conservatives, Greens, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK, and Liberal Democrats have each put forward exactly six nominees, enabling them to utilise the full permitted campaign spending allowance.
Parties arrange their candidates in order of preference, with the highest-placed individual gaining a seat if their party reaches the required threshold, followed by the next name if applicable.
Should an elected representative be unable to finish their term, the next candidate on their party’s list will assume the position. Furthermore, those elected to the Senedd will be prohibited from changing party membership during their tenure.
The current Senedd Members representing Monmouthshire and Torfaen are both seeking re-election, with Conservative Peter Fox, who first entered the Senedd in 2021, heading his party’s list, while Labour’s Lynne Neagle, who has served continuously since the inaugural National Assembly for Wales in 1999, occupies the top Labour position.
Laura Anne Jones, previously one of four Members of the Senedd for South East Wales, leads Reform UK’s roster. The five previous regional seats, which operated under proportional representation, have been eliminated along with the 40 constituency seats that previously used the simple majority system.
Jones was elected as a Conservative in 2021 but joined Reform during summer 2025.
Other significant candidates include Labour’s Anthony Hunt, leader of Torfaen Borough Council, who occupies second place on his party’s list, while Richard John, who heads the Conservative group on Monmouthshire council, is the Conservatives’ second-placed candidate.
Ian Chandler, a Green Party member serving on Monmouthshire’s Labour-controlled executive, is the leading Green candidate, with the party anticipating that the revised electoral arrangement might deliver their inaugural Cardiff Bay representation.
Plaid Cymru, which has previously secured seats in the South East Wales region, also harbours ambitions for success, placing Matthew Jones at the top of their list. Jones previously contested Torfaen for the party during the 2024 General Election.
Monmouthshire, like the Torfaen constituency, has historically been won by a single party in devolved contests, and numerous parties are anticipating that the new six-representative system may offer them a route to the Senedd.
Alongside Reform, which seeks its first Senedd presence through the ballot box, other contenders include the centre-right Welsh nationalist organisation Gwlad, the socially conservative Heritage Party, and the Open Party, which advocates for ordinary people with relevant life experience to stand for election.
Owen Lewis, who stood as an independent candidate in Monmouthshire during the 2024 General Election, is again contesting as an independent, alongside another independent named Welsh Pool.
Foreign nationals, along with 16 and 17-year-olds, may register and participate in Senedd elections. The registration deadline falls on Monday, April 20, with online registration available through the government website.