On 7 May 2026, voters across Wales will head to the polls to elect new Members of the Senedd.
This election will see the introduction of some significant changes. These include 16 new constituencies to elect a total of 96 Members, a new voting system, and new eligibility requirements for candidates.
Etholiad 26 comprises a series of articles that bring together important information about the election. They’ll explain what people in Wales will be voting for, how to vote and what support is available, the changes introduced at this election, and more.
This page will be updated in the run-up to the election and an analysis of the results will be available shortly afterwards.
New constituencies, a different voting system, and more Members. These are some of the headline changes coming at the Senedd election in May 2026.
This article – the first in our series on the upcoming election – looks at these changes in more detail.
How a parliament organises its business and the rules about who can speak or vote may seem archaic, but they can have a big impact on how a government is held to account.
The size of the Senedd will increase to 96 Members after the next election. The Future Senedd Committee has been looking at how a bigger Senedd could improve scrutiny, strengthen accountability and broaden representation.
The constituencies for the next Senedd election have been confirmed.
Voters in each of the 16 new constituencies will elect 6 members via the closed list proportional representation system. The changes are part of wider reforms to the Senedd introduced by the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024.
This article includes maps of the new constituencies, explains how they were chosen and looks ahead to what happens next.
We’ve compiled in one place a list of the key dates in the run up to and after the upcoming Senedd election.
Much of this information is set out in the Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025, known as the Conduct Order, the Government of Wales Act 2006, and Electoral Commission guidance.
There have long been calls for the Senedd to better reflect the diversity of the people it represents. The Committee on Senedd Electoral Reform heard that diversity among those elected ‘enhances the way legislatures operate and represent their communities’. Under-representation risks excluding some voices from politics.
This article will explore some of the latest measures introduced to encourage under-represented groups to stand for election to the Senedd and to remove barriers they might face.
Who speaks for Wales? How could the 2026 Senedd election be more representative?
Article by Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament.
