Wales [a division under the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]
ELECTION TYPE
Parliamentary
DATE
May 1, 2003
Story Tools:
At stake in this election:
60 seats in the
Welsh Parliament
Description of government structure (for
the United Kingdom):
Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Anthony BLAIR
Assembly: The Scottish parliament consists of 129 seats with 73
of its members representing the constituencies and 56 seats representing
the regions (there are 8 regions in Scotland, each with 7 representatives
Description of electoral structure:
Forty members are elected from single-member constituencies. Twenty
members are elected via proportional representation from five regions.
Each region has four members. Voters cast two votes, one for their
constituencies, and one for their regions.
All members in the Scottish Parliament serve a term of four years.
Results
of the electoral race:
Party: Labour Party
Leader: Rhodri MORGAN
Seats won in this election: 30
Seats won in the last election: 30
Party: Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales)
Leader: Ieuan Wyn JONES
Seats won in this election: 12
Seats won in the last election: 15
Party: Conservative Party
Leader: Nick BOURNE
Seats won in this election: 11
Seats won in the last election: 9
Party: Liberal Democrats
Leader: Michael GERMAN
Seats won in this election: 6
Seats won in the last election: 6
When was the last
election?
Parliamentary elections were last held in Wales on May 6, 1999.
Population and
number of registered voters:
Population: 2,937,000 (Based on 1999 figures. Please provide an
updated figure if available).
Number of registered voters:
2,228,697
Of interest:
The Welsh Assembly was created under the Government of Wales
Act 1998, after the region held a referendum asking voters to approve
of a legislative body to govern Wales.
In this election a ‘rolling registration’ was used to
allow disenfranchised voters such as the homeless, patients, and
prisoners the option to cast their ballots. This system requires the
electoral
register to be updated every month to provide the most accurate registry
polls for every election held in Wales.
SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES) For additional information:IFES ElectionGuide Online
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