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United Kingdom
The Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025

The Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025

In forceThis text since 24 Mar 2026law://uk/wsi/2025/864@2026-11-10

Version in force on

Where

EnglandWales

Contents

Part 1 General
Part 2 Senedd Cymru franchise and its exercise
Part 3 The election campaign
Part 4 Legal Proceedings
Part 5 Miscellaneous and supplemental
Schedule 1 Absent voting at Senedd elections
Schedule 2 Issue and receipt of postal ballot papers
Schedule 3 Combination of polls: Senedd and local government elections
Schedule 4 Combination of polls: Senedd elections and police and crime commissioner elections
Schedule 5 Senedd election rules
Schedule 6 Control of donations to candidates
Schedule 7 Election expenses
Schedule 8 Use of rooms in school premises or meeting rooms for Senedd election meetings
Schedule 9 Modification of Election Petition Rules 1960
Schedule 10 Appendix of forms
Schedule 11 Consequential amendments
Schedule 12 Revocations

Contents

Part 1 General
Part 2 Senedd Cymru franchise and its exercise
Part 3 The election campaign
Part 4 Legal Proceedings
Part 5 Miscellaneous and supplemental
Schedule 1 Absent voting at Senedd elections
Schedule 2 Issue and receipt of postal ballot papers
Schedule 3 Combination of polls: Senedd and local government elections
Schedule 4 Combination of polls: Senedd elections and police and crime commissioner elections
Schedule 5 Senedd election rules
Schedule 6 Control of donations to candidates
Schedule 7 Election expenses
Schedule 8 Use of rooms in school premises or meeting rooms for Senedd election meetings
Schedule 9 Modification of Election Petition Rules 1960
Schedule 10 Appendix of forms
Schedule 11 Consequential amendments
Schedule 12 Revocations

Contents

3,670 provisions, too many to show on one page. Open a part or section to read it with its history and connections, or search inside the text.

Part 1 · General
1. 1 Title, commencement, revocation and savings provision
2. 2 Interpretation
Part 2 · Senedd Cymru franchise and its exercise
Part 3 · The election campaign
Part 4 · Legal Proceedings
Part 5 · Miscellaneous and supplemental
Schedule 1 · Absent voting at Senedd elections
Schedule 2 · Issue and receipt of postal ballot papers
Schedule 3 · Combination of polls: Senedd and local government elections
Schedule 4 · Combination of polls: Senedd elections and police and crime commissioner elections
1. Part 1 General
2. Part 2 Modifications to Schedule 5 to apply where the poll at a Senedd general election is taken together with a poll at a police and crime commissioner election under article 16(1) or (3)
Schedule 5 · Senedd election rules
Schedule 6 · Control of donations to candidates
Schedule 7 · Election expenses
Schedule 8 · Use of rooms in school premises or meeting rooms for Senedd election meetings
Schedule 9 · Modification of Election Petition Rules 1960
Schedule 10 · Appendix of forms
Schedule 11 · Consequential amendments
Schedule 12 · Revocations

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Key facts

Type: Statutory instrument · WSI 2025/864
Made by: Welsh Government
Extent: England and Wales

History · 4 versions

24 Mar 2026Reading
5 Feb 2026
21 Jul 2025
18 Jul 2025

What changed on 24 Mar 2026

Connections

Amended by 2: The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential and Other Amendments) Regulations 2025; The Representation of the People (Absent Voting and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026

Defined terms · 108

Show every defined term

absent voter
(“pleidleisiwr absennol”) means an elector who is entitled to vote by proxy, or an elector or proxy who is entitled to vote by post, and “absent vote” (“pleidlais absennol”) is to be construed accordingly;
act
includes an omission, and references to the doing of an act are to be read accordingly.
agent
(“asiant”) includes an election agent and a person appointed to attend in the election agent’s place;
appropriate area
means the area common to the Senedd constituency and voting area in which the polls for the Senedd election and the police and crime commissioner election are being taken together and in respect of which polls the voter has been issued with a ballot paper.”
authorised person
(“person awdurdodedig”) means a person (other than a barrister or solicitor) who, for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007, is an authorised person in relation to an activity which constitutes the exercise of a right of audience (within the meaning of that Act);
available for inspection
(“ar gael i edrych arno”) means available for inspection during ordinary office hours;
broadcasting authority
(“awdurdod darlledu”) means the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Office of Communications or Sianel Pedwar Cymru;
candidate
(“ymgeisydd”) means any individual or party list candidate standing nominated;
certificate of anonymous registration
means a certificate issued in pursuance of regulation 45G of the 2001 Regulations.
constituency election
(“etholiad etholaethol”) means an election to return a Senedd member for a Senedd constituency;
covering envelope
(“prif amlen”) means the envelopes referred to in paragraph 11;
date of the allowance of an authorised excuse
(“dyddiad caniatáu esgus awdurdodedig”) has the meaning given by article 60(10);
declaration as to election expenses
(“datganiad ynghylch treuliau etholiad”) means a declaration made under article 55 or 56;
defined expenses
means expenses in connection with—
disability
has the same meaning as in section 6 of the Equality Act 2010.
disputed claim
(“hawliad y mae anghydfod yn ei gylch”) has the meaning given by article 52(1) as extended by article 53;
dwelling
includes any part of a building which is occupied separately as a dwelling,
election court
(“llys etholiadol”) means a special court of presiding judges convened to determine the petition against the result of a Senedd election;
electoral number
(“rhif etholiadol”) means a person’s number in the register to be used at the election or, pending publication of the register, that person’s number, if any, in the electors’ lists for that register;
excluded day
means a day that is—
false information
means a signature which— the person whose signature it purports to be.
forecast
(“rhagolwg”) includes estimate, • “publish” (“cyhoeddi”) means to make available to the public at large, or any section of the public, in whatever form and by whatever means, and any reference to the result of an election is a reference to the result of the election either as a whole or so far as any particular candidate or candidates at the election is or are concerned.
gift
includes a bequest or any other form of testamentary disposition.
individual candidate
(“ymgeisydd unigol”) means a candidate at a Senedd election other than a party list candidate;
issue
(“dyroddiad”) includes the original and any subsequent issue;
legal incapacity
(“anghymhwyster cyfreithiol”) means any disqualification from voting imposed by this Order or by any other enactment;
legal process
(“proses gyfreithiol”) means a claim form, application notice, writ, summons or other similar process;
Licensing Acts
(“Deddfau Trwyddedu”) means the Licensing Act 2003 and the acts amending that Act, or the corresponding enactments forming part of the law of Scotland or Northern Ireland;
local government election
(“etholiad llywodraeth leol”) means an election listed in article 15(2);
meeting room
means any room which it is the practice to let for public meetings, and
nomination paper
(“papur enwebu”) means an individual nomination paper or a party nomination paper;
nomination papers
includes individual nomination papers and party nomination papers;
ordinary election of police and crime commissioners
has the same meaning as in section 50 of the 2011 Act.
parliamentary election petition
(“deiseb etholiad seneddol”) means a petition presented in pursuance of Part 3 of the 1983 Act;
party list
(“rhestr plaid”) means a list of not more than eight candidates, but it may be a list of only one candidate, to be a Senedd member or Senedd members for a Senedd constituency which is to be or has been submitted to a returning officer by a registered political party;
party list candidate
(“ymgeisydd rhestr plaid”) means a candidate included on a party list;
payment
(“taliad”) includes any pecuniary or other reward;
personal identifiers record
(“cofnod dynodyddion personol”) means the record kept in accordance with paragraph 4 of Schedule 1;
police and crime commissioner election
has the same meaning as in section 51 of the 2011 Act (election to fill vacancy in office of commissioner), and
police area
(“ardal heddlu”) means a police area in Wales listed in Schedule 1 to the Police Act 1996 (police areas);
postal ballot box
(“blwch pleidleisio drwy’r post”) means the ballot box referred to in paragraph 18(1)(b);
postal ballot paper
(“papur pleidleisio drwy’r post”) means a ballot paper issued to a postal voter;
postal voter
(“pleidleisiwr drwy’r post”) means an elector or proxy who is entitled to vote by post;
postal voters list
(“rhestr pleidleiswyr drwy’r post”) means the list kept under article 8(2);
prescribed
(“rhagnodedig”) means prescribed by rules of court, in particular the 1960 Rules as modified by Schedule 9 to this Order;
prescribed officer
(“swyddog rhagnodedig”) means the master of the Kings Bench Division who is nominated under section 157(4) of the 1983 Act and will be the prescribed officer in relation to elections under Part 1 of the 2006 Act;
print
(“argraffu”) means print by whatever means;
proper officer
means a proper officer within the meaning of section 270(3) of the Local Government Act 1972.
property
includes any description of property, and references to the provision of property include the supply of goods.
proxy postal voter
(“dirprwy sy’n pleidleisio drwy’r post”) means a person entitled to vote by post as proxy at an election;
proxy postal voters list
(“rhestr pleidleiswyr drwy’r post drwy ddirprwy”) means the list kept under article 10(8);
publication
means a publication made available in whatever form and by whatever means, whether or not to the public at large or any section of the public.
publish
(“cyhoeddi”) means to make available to the public at large, or any section of the public, in whatever form and by whatever means, and any reference to the result of an election is a reference to the result of the election either as a whole or so far as any particular candidate or candidates at the election is or are concerned.
qualifying address
(“cyfeiriad cymhwysol”) has the same meaning as in section 9(8)(b) of the 1983 Act;
qualifying Commonwealth citizen
(“dinesydd cymhwysol o’r Gymanwlad”) means a Commonwealth citizen who either— (a) is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or (b) is such a person but for the time being has, or is by virtue of any enactment to be treated as having, any description of such leave, but a person is not a qualifying Commonwealth citizen if that person does not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom by virtue only of section 8 of the Immigration Act 1971 (exemptions to requirement for leave in special cases);
qualifying foreign citizen
(“dinesydd tramor cymhwysol”) means a person who— (a) is not a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a relevant citizen of the Union, and (b) either— (a) is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or (b) is such a person but for the time being has, or is by virtue of any enactment to be treated as having, any description of such leave;
record of anonymous entries
(“cofnod o gofnodion dienw”) means the record prepared in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of paragraph 8A of Schedule 2 to the 1983 Act;
register of electors
(“cofrestr etholwyr”) means the register of local government electors maintained under section 9(1)(b) of the 1983 Act;
registered emblem
(“arwyddlun cofrestredig”) means an emblem registered by a registered political party under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act;
registered nominating officer
(“swyddog enwebu cofrestredig”) means the person registered under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act as the officer with responsibility for the matters referred to in section 24(3) of that Act in respect of a registered political party;
registered political party
means a party which was registered under Part 2 of the 2000 Political Parties Act on the day (“the relevant day”) which is 2 days before the last day for the delivery of nomination papers at the election in accordance with the Table in rule 1(1).
registration area
means the area of two or more Senedd constituencies which have the same registration officer.
registration officer
(“swyddog cofrestru”) means an electoral registration officer under section 8 of the 1983 Act;
regulated period
(“cyfnod rheoleiddiedig”) has the meaning given by article 49;
relevant area
means—
relevant citizen of the Union
(“dinesydd perthnasol o’r Undeb”) means a citizen of the Union who is not a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, and “citizen of the Union” (“dinesydd o’r Undeb”) is to be construed in accordance with article 20(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
relevant date
means the relevant date for the purposes of section 4 of the 1983 Act.
relevant persons
means persons who find it difficult or impossible to vote in the manner directed by rule 46 because of—
relevant record
means the record kept under article 6(4) or 10(6).
relevant Senedd election documents
means the documents relating to a Senedd election that the relevant registration officer is required to retain by rule 70 of Schedule 5 to the 2025 Order;
relevant vacancy
(“sedd wag berthnasol”) means when a seat of a member of the Senedd returned from a list submitted by a registered political party is vacant within the circumstances described in section 11 of the 2006 Act;
return
(“dychwelyd”) means the return of a member of the Senedd.
return as to election expenses
(“ffurflen ynghylch treuliau etholiad”) means a return (including the bills and receipts to be delivered with it) to be made under article 54.
returning officer
(“swyddog canlyniadau”) means the officer who, in accordance with article 18, is the returning officer for a Senedd constituency;
room
includes a hall, gallery or gymnasium.
Senedd
(“Senedd”) has the same meaning as in section 1(1) of the 2006 Act;
Senedd Cymru
means the parliament for Wales established by section 1 of the Government of Wales Act 2006;
Senedd Cymru election
means the holding of elections for the return of all Senedd members;
Senedd election
(“etholiad i’r Senedd”) means a Senedd constituency election;
Senedd election petition
means a petition presented in pursuance of Part 4 of the Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025.
Senedd election rules
(“rheolau etholiadau’r Senedd”) means the rules for the conduct of Senedd elections set out in Schedule 5;
Senedd general election
(“etholiad cyffredinol i’r Senedd”) means the holding of elections for the return of all Senedd members;
service voter
(“pleidleisiwr gwasanaeth”) means a person who has made a service declaration in accordance with section 15 of the 1983 Act and is registered or entitled to be registered in pursuance of it;
spoilt postal ballot paper
(“papur pleidleisio drwy’r post a ddifethwyd”) means a ballot paper referred to in paragraph 14(1);
statement of parties and persons nominated
(“datganiad o’r pleidiau a’r personau a enwebwyd”) means a statement prepared in accordance with rule 17 of Schedule 5;
sub-agent
(“is-asiant”) has the meaning given by article 40(1);
the 1960 Rules
(“Rheolau 1960”) means the Election Petition Rules 1960 as modified by Schedule 9 to this Order.
the 1983 Act
(“Deddf 1983”) means the Representation of the People Act 1983;
the 2000 Political Parties Act
(“Deddf Pleidiau Gwleidyddol 2000”) means the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000;
the 2001 Regulations
(“Rheoliadau 2001”) means the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001;
the 2006 Act
(“Deddf 2006”) means the Government of Wales Act 2006;
the 2011 Act
(“Deddf 2011”) means the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011;
the 2025 Order
(“Gorchymyn 2025”) means the Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025;”
the appropriate date
means the date which falls 4 months before the date when the poll would have taken place under section 3(1) of that Act.
the copies of the registration records
means the copies provided by the returning officer for the polling station under rule 37(3)(b) and (c) (copies of the relevant register of electors and copies of any notices issued under section 13B(3B) or (3D) of the 1983 Act relating to the relevant register of electors).
the marked copies of the registration records
means the copies of the registration records, as defined by rule 44(8), as marked in accordance with these rules.
the relevant period
means the period of 12 months ending with the day on which the notice of election is published.
the relevant register of electors
means the register of electors for the constituency or such part of it as contains the entries relating to the electors allotted to the polling station.
the returns record
means the record kept in accordance with rule 74(1).
the Senedd list of proxies
means the list kept under article 8(1)(b) and (3) of the 2025 Order;
the Senedd postal voters list
means the list kept under article 8(1)(a) and (2) of the 2025 Order;
the Senedd proxy postal voters list
means the list kept under article 10(8) of the 2025 Order. 2 References in this Part to “the marked Senedd register or lists” are to any part of the marked copies of— a the full register;
the time for inspection
means ordinary office hours on any day after the last day for the delivery of nomination papers and before the day of the poll, other than an excluded day.
the UK GDPR
has the meaning given in section 3(10) of the Data Protection Act 2018.
universal service provider
(“darparwr gwasanaeth cyffredinol”) means a universal service provider within the meaning of Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011;
valid postal voting statement
(“datganiad pleidlais drwy’r post dilys”) means a postal voting statement, which, in accordance with paragraph 23, the returning officer is satisfied has been duly completed.
voter
(“pleidleisiwr”) means a person voting at a Senedd election and includes a person voting as proxy and, except in Schedule 5, a person voting by proxy, and “vote” (“pleidlais” and “pleidleisio”), whether noun or verb, is to be construed accordingly, except that in that Schedule any reference to an elector voting or an elector’s vote includes a reference to an elector voting by proxy or elector’s vote given by proxy, and absent vote is to be construed accordingly;
voting age
(“oedran pleidleisio”) means 16 years of age or over.

uk/wsi/2025/864