Time to cast your vote in two elections this Thursday

Instead of casting their votes in the town hall as usual, Llangollen electors are being asked to use ballot boxes set up in the International Pavilion when they make their choice in this Thursday's two elections.

The change has come about due to the pandemic, with the pavilion being judged to provide more space for the necessary social distancing.

As another anti-Covid measure voters are also being encouraged to bring along their own pen or pencil to make their marks on the ballot papers for the Senedd and the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner.

The polling station will be open from 7am-10pm.

There are seven candidates lining up to contest the Clwyd South Senedd seat which has been held by Welsh Labour's Ken Skates since 2011. His majority has been 13% in the last two Senedd elections.

The full list of candidates is:

Jeanette Stefani Bassford-Barton, UKIP

Leena Farhat, Lib Dems

Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales

Jonathon Andrew Harrington, Abolish The Welsh Assembly Party

Barbara Hughes, Conservatives

Mandy Jones, Reform UK

Ken Skates, Labour

The remaining 20 Senedd Members for North Wales are made up from the five larger Welsh Senedd voting regions which elect four MSs each in a proportional vote system – taking into account the number of constituencies already won in the region.

Police and Crime Commissioner election

The election for the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner will also be held this Thursday.

Here is the list of declared candidates in the election, in alphabetical order by surname:

• Pat Astbury - Conservative

• Andy Dunbobbin - Labour

• Ann Griffith - Plaid Cymru

• Lisa Wilkins - Liberal Democrat

• Mark Young - Independent

Among the COVID-19 measures set to be in place at polling stations will be:

• Separate entrances and exits where possible
• At some polling stations, a door manager will be in attendance to ensure that social distancing can be maintained at all times
• Altered layouts to allow for social distancing when waiting to vote and when completing a ballot paper, but still ensuring electors can cast their vote in secret
• Polling station staff wearing PPE
• Voters encouraged to bring their own pen or pencil
• Polling booths regularly sanitised.
• In addition, voters are asked to wear a face covering and ensure that only two voters enter a polling station at a time, while maintaining a safe distance throughout their visit.