Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Ruth Mosalski

When are they counting the votes in Thursday's Senedd elections and when will we know the result

On Thursday, voters in Wales took part in the Senedd and Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

The elections will see 60 people selected as Members of the Senedd - 40 as constituency MSs and 20 to represent Wales' four regions. You can also vote for the four people as Police and Crime Commissioners.

This year, the election has looked and felt different. You've probably noticed there was less campaigning by the candidates as rules prevented them door-knocking or going to events until late in the campaign.

The counts themselves - which happen all across Wales - will also look different. There will be less people allowed to attend, and strict rules about distancing and who can do what.

Normally, the counting process starts at 10pm on Thursday night - but this year the counting starts on Friday morning.

Due to changes to the process because of coronavirus it's not as simple for us to know when results will come.

The Electoral Commission, which oversees elections, said staff have to be kept in smaller groups than usual and breaks offered regularly for those wearing face coverings. Those in charge of election counts can limit the number of people attending from political parties which will limit the amount of information that comes out about how a party is expecting to fare.

Counting will begin on Friday morning, usually around 9am.

The staff have to go through and verify all the votes first, and then begin actually counting them.

We expect results to start coming in on the afternoon of Friday, May 7.

We already know that some councils have made plans to decide at around 5 or 6pm if they can conclude the whole count on Friday. If they cannot, the count will be adjourned and will start again on Saturday morning.

In constituencies where the results are expected to be close, it could be that one or more recounts are needed, which could delay the results and push any announcement into Saturday.

Regional results could therefore be pushed into Saturday as they are dependant on what happens in the constituencies.

Counting for Wales' four Police and Crime Commissioner elections is on Sunday, May 9.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.