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EDITIONS

Wales

COUNTRY	ELECTION TYPE	DATE
Wales, United Kingdom	Referendum	September 18, 1997

At stake in this Referendum:

Whether the national government will pursue legislation creating a unicameral Welsh Assembly

Details of the Referendum:

The government has published a White Paper that details a proposal for a unicameral Welsh Assembly.
Voters will vote either in favor of or against the proposal for a Welsh Assembly as detailed in the White Paper.
The national government in London will introduce legislation if the proposal is approved.
The Welsh Assembly will be composed of 60 members.
40 directly elected members will gain seats through a simple majority and 20 additional members will be elected through proportional representation.
If the referendum for the Welsh Assembly is approved, voters will have two votes in the election for the Assembly. One vote will be for a constituency member and the second vote will be for an additional member.
The vote for an additional member will be in the form of a vote for a party, not a specific candidate.

Powers of the Welsh Assembly:

The Welsh Assembly will have the power to amend government legislation from Parliament only in the areas devolved to the Assembly.
In general, the Welsh Assembly will not be able to overturn legislation passed by the Parliament.
The Welsh Assembly will have approximately the same responsibility for government spending as the current secretary of state for Wales.

When was the last referendum?

The last referendum for a Welsh Assembly occurred on March 1, 1979.
In 1979, only 20.3% of voters supported the creation of a Welsh Assembly. Therefore, devolution legislation was not enacted by Parliament in London.

Population and number of eligible voters:

Results:

The proposal for the creation of a Welsh Assembly was approved with 559,419 votes (50.3%) in favor of the assembly and 552,698 votes (49.7%) against it.
Voter turnout: 50.3%

SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES)