Member of the National Assembly for Wales

Wales

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Wales

Government Cabinet First Minister Carwyn Jones AM Counsel General Theodore Huckle QC Home Civil Service Directorates Welsh Government sponsored bodies National Assembly Contemporary Welsh Law Acts list Statutory Instruments Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler AM Shadow Cabinet Leader of the Opposition Andrew R. T. Davies AM Members (AMs) Elections in Wales Constituencies and electoral regions Political parties Last election Next election Wales in the UK Her Majesty's Government Secretary of State Cheryl Gillan Parliament of the United Kingdom Wales Office Grand Committee Select Committee Reserved matters Government of Wales Act 2006 Elections Constituencies List of Welsh MPs Wales in the EU European Parliament Elections European Parliament constituency Subdivisons Local government in Wales Preserved counties Principal areas Communities

Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view · talk · edit

The National Assembly for Wales is composed of 60 members known as AMs or Assembly Members (in Welsh: ACau or Aelodau'r Cynulliad). Forty are chosen to represent each individual constituency, and 20 are chosen to represent the five regions of Wales.

Each person in Wales is represented by five AMs – one AM for their constituency (the local area in which they live), and another four AMs covering their region. Wales' five regions are: Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East and South Wales West.^[1]

Methods of election

AMs are elected in one of two ways:

1. First past the post constituency AMs or;
2. Regional additional-member AMs

Forty are elected as constituency AMs and twenty are elected as additional members, four from each of five regional groups of constituencies. This additional member system produces a form of proportional representation for each region.

Elections

All AMs positions become simultaneously vacant for elections held on a four year cycle. If a vacancy arises at another time, due to death or resignation, then it may be filled in one of two ways, depending of whether the vacancy is for a first-past-the-post constituency AM or for an additional-member AM.

A constituency vacancy may be filled by a by-election. An additional-member vacancy may be filled by the next available candidate on the relevant party list.

See also

• Members of the 1st National Assembly for Wales
• Members of the 2nd National Assembly for Wales
• Members of the 3rd National Assembly for Wales
• National Assembly for Wales constituencies and regions
• Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland)
• Member of the Scottish Parliament

References

1. ^ Explore the Assembly education website