The Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 (anaw 1) ( cy, Deddf Senedd ac Etholiadau (Cymru) 2020) is an Act of the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

that was given

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 15 January 2020. It was first detailed in February 2019 by way of an Explanatory Memorandum.

Summary

The Act allowed for the first time in Wales afford 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote, beginning with the

2021 Senedd election 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...

. The decision is the largest franchise extension in Wales since 1969, when the

Representation of the People Act 1969 The Representation of the People Act 1969 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This statute is sometimes known as the Sixth Reform Act. The Act lowered the voting age to 18. The United Kingdom was the first major democratic country ...

reduced the voting age from 21 to 18. The franchise will also be extended to "eligible foreign nationals". The Act also changed the name of the legislature to "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament". The decision was controversial and saw much debate in the Chamber between those who favoured the single name Senedd and those (led by former First Minister

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the S ...

) who sought to include a bilingual element. Guidance issued following the passage of the Act suggests that the institution is to be commonly known as the 'Senedd' in both English and Welsh. The Act amended the Government of Wales Act 2006 (s. 16) so that some disqualified individuals prohibited from taking up a seat in the Senedd are, and some are not, also prohibited from standing for election; and ensures that the Electoral Commission is funded by and accountable to the Senedd for Welsh elections. The Bill was agreed by the Assembly on 27 November 2019. It became an Act following Royal Assent on 15 January 2020. The contents of the act were implemented in May 2020.

References

External links

Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill 2019 as passed
Constitutional laws of Wales Acts of the National Assembly for Wales Electoral reform in Wales 2020 in Wales 2020 in British law 2020 in British politics {{UK-law-stub