Wales went to the polls at 7am this morning to elect 60 members of the sixth Welsh Parliament, on an historic day for Welsh politics.

The 2021 elections is the sixth general election since the Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for Wales) was established in 1999.

It will be the first election in which 16 and 17-year-olds and legally resident foreign nationals are allowed to vote in Wales, the largest extension of the system in Wales since 1969. Both changes were a result of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020.

Five parties had Members of the Senedd (MSs, formerly Assembly Members – AMs) elected at the last election: Welsh Labour, the Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Seven political parties are currently represented in the Senedd.

These are the five aforementioned parties and two parties that gained MSs who were elected for – and moved from – other political parties. The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party gained two MSs who were elected for UKIP in 2016 and Propel (previously the Welsh Nation Party) gained an MS elected for Plaid Cymru in 2016.

In Powys it will be all change as Kirsty Williams, the education minister, is standing down from her role as a Brecon and Radnorshire representative at this election. She has represented the constituency since the birth of Wales’ parliament 22 years ago. William Powell is this year’s Liberal Democrat candidate and the race for the area is expected to come down to him and Conservative rival James Evans, who is also running for his first Senedd post.

Meanwhile, in Montgomeryshire, Tory MS Russell George will be hoping to strengthen his position in north Powys, with Montgomeryshire turning blue over the last decade since Mr George was first elected in 2011 – having initially been a Lib Dem area for the first 12 years of the Assembly.

BRECON AND RADNORSHIRE

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Brecon and Radnorshire elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the Mid and West Wales electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to eight constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

It is currently represented by Kirsty Williams MS, of the Liberal Democrats, who has been the MS since 1999.

Brecon and Radnorshire has been a real stronghold for the Lib Dems for more than two decades. In the 2016 Senedd elections the party enjoyed its biggest winning majority, with Ms Williams acquiring 15,898 of the votes, in what was the biggest turnout in the constituency’s history. She enjoyed an +8.6 in votes from 2011.

Party averages from 5 elections: Lib Dem – 48.3%, Conservatives – 22.7%, Labour – 12.7%, Plaid Cymru – 8.8%

MONTGOMERYSHIRE

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Montgomeryshire elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. Also, like its southern neighbour, it is one of eight constituencies in the Mid and West Wales electoral region which elects four additional members, in addition to eight constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

This part of Powys was likewise dominated by the Lib Dems for a decade, before the Tories took over in 2011. Mick Bates represented the constituency from 1999 until 2010, first as a Liberal and briefly as an Independent. Since 2011 though it has been a Tory stronghold and represented by Newtown’s Russell George.

When he was first elected in 2011, he took the seat with a +9.5 swing in the votes from Lib Dem opponents Wyn Williams.

Party averages from 5 elections: Lib Dem – 37.5%, Conservatives – 33.7%, Plaid Cymru – 12.3%, Labour – 9.3%

HOW MANY VOTES DO I GET?

Voters will elect 40 Members of the Senedd (MSs) representing local constituencies, and 20 representing five large regions – North Wales, Mid and West Wales, South Wales West, South Wales Central and South Wales East.

Voters will get two ballots – one to back a candidate in their constituency, and one to support a party list of candidates or individual in their region.

In the constituency ballots the candidate with the most votes wins, the same system used at UK general elections. But the ballot for the region is decided by a mathematical process in which people are elected more according to their share of the vote.

The system takes into account who has won the constituency seats within that region and gives parties winning fewer or none of those constituencies a better chance of winning regional ones.

POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER

As well as voting in the Senedd election, people will be able to vote for their Police and Crime Commissioner.

Wales has a commissioner for each of the four forces whose responsibility is to maintain an effective and efficient police service by holding the chief constable to account. The commissioner is tasked with supporting the chief constable in understanding and responding to the community's needs and plays a leading role in community safety and crime reduction.

The sitting PCC for Dyfed Powys is Plaid Cymru's Dafydd Llewelyn.

The candidates in Dyfed Powys are:

Jon Burns - Conservative

Dafydd Llewellyn - Plaid Cymru

Glyn Tomos Preston - Liberal Democrats

Philippa Thompson - Labour

HOW DO I VOTE?

Voting at the polling booth with take place until 10pm today.

Polling stations will be kitted out with hand sanitiser and distancing markers to help voters remain safe from coronavirus.

Most crucially, voters are being asked to bring their own pen or pencil. Face coverings must also be worn, unless exempt.

WHEN WILL WE KNOW THE RESULTS?

As with a lot of things this past year, the election has been hit by Covid restrictions.

While voting will happen today, counting will not take place the same night as is usually the case on election night.

Instead, the votes will be taken to the counting locations and kept secure until morning.

They will then be verified – spoiled ballots removed – and counted. Due to Covid restrictions, this will likely take longer than in normal counts, but results are expected within two days of polls closing.

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