Guidance for Candidates and Agents at Senedd elections

Apart from meeting the qualifications for standing for election, you must also not be disqualified.

The full range of disqualifications is complex and if you are in any doubt about whether you are disqualified, you must do everything you can to check that you are not disqualified before submitting your nomination papers.

You must be sure that you are not disqualified as you will be asked to sign the consent to nomination to confirm that you are not disqualified.1

It is a criminal offence to make a false statement on your nomination papers as to your qualification for being elected,2 so if you are in any doubt you should contact your employer, consult the legislation or, if necessary, take your own independent legal advice.

The Returning Officer (RO) will not be able to confirm whether or not you are disqualified.

There are certain people who are disqualified from being a member of the Senedd or a candidate at a Senedd election.

You cannot be a candidate if at the time of your nomination and on polling day:

• You hold a post that disqualifies you from becoming a Member of the Senedd. More information is set out in our guidance disqualifying offices.
• You are the subject of bankruptcy restrictions. More information is set out in our guidance on bankruptcy.3
• You are a convicted prisoner serving a sentence of more than one year’s detention (or an indefinite sentence) anywhere in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, or elsewhere in the European Union or are unlawfully at large.4
• You have been disqualified under the Representation of the People Act 1983 (which covers corrupt or illegal electoral practices and offences relating to donations or after being reported guilty of an corrupt or illegal practice under Senedd Cymru Order 2025). The disqualification for an illegal practice begins from the date a person has been reported guilty by an election court and lasts for three years. The disqualification for corrupt practice begins from the date a person has been reported guilty by an election court and lasts for five years.
• You have been convicted of an intimidatory criminal offence motivated by hostility towards a candidate, future candidate or campaigner or holder of a relevant elective office. The effect of a disqualification order is that the person will be disqualified from standing for, being elected to, and holding any relevant elective office for five years.5
• You are subject to the notification requirements of or under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or application in respect of the order or notification has passed. A person who is in the process of making an appeal or application in relation to the disqualification is not disqualified at any time before the end of the day on which the appeal or application is disposed of, abandoned or fails by reason of non-prosecution.6

The RO is entitled to hold a nomination paper from a disqualified individual candidate invalid and to treat a disqualified party list candidate as having ceased to stand.