Section 24 - Transitional provision relating to Parts 1 and 2
91.Section 24 makes transitional provision relating to Parts 1 and 2.
92.There is a convention that changes to electoral law should come into force at least 6 months before the date of the notice of the election at which they first apply. This is to give electoral administrators certainty as to the law governing a forthcoming election and sufficient time to prepare for it, including time to understand and give effect to changes in the law. For this reason, whilst section 25 provides for the changes made by this Act to the size of the Senedd, constituencies, the voting system and disqualification of candidates and Members, together with the related amendments to other enactments (see section 10), to come into force two months after Royal Assent, the effect of section 24 is to delay those changes from taking effect until the first general election held on or after 7 April 2026 (for these purposes, it is the date of the poll for the general election that is relevant). That date is the earliest date the Presiding Officer could, under section 4 of the 2006 Act, propose for the poll for the next scheduled ordinary general election (which, under section 3 of the 2006 Act, is scheduled for 7 May 2026). The result of section 24 is that any general election which may be held before that date, would be held under the pre-existing law i.e. the mixed member electoral system provided for in the 2006 Act. Similarly, the Act’s other changes mentioned in section 24(1) and (2) (including, for example, the changes to how vacancies arising between general elections are dealt with) will not take effect in respect of any Senedd returned as a result of a poll which is held before 7 April 2026.
93.Section 3 of the Act reduces the time between ordinary general elections to four years and section 25 provides for that change to come into force on the day after the day of the poll for the first general election held after 7 November 2025. Section 24(3) and (4) confirm that, in the case that an extraordinary general election is held after that date but before the ordinary general election scheduled for May 2026 (which would result in that ordinary general election not taking place: see section 5(5) of the 2006 Act), the next ordinary general election would be due to take place in 2030.
