Ceredigion Council Expected to Reject Adoption of Single Transferable Vote System

A change to the way councillors are elected in Ceredigion by adopting the Single Transferable Vote system is expected to not be adopted later this week.
All councillors in Wales are currently elected using a simple majority system, commonly known as first past the post (FPTP).
Each council will continue to use this method unless it decides to change to a system known as the Single Transferable Vote (STV) under 2021 legislation, a change that would not affect town and community council elections.
At the December 14 meeting of full council, members are being asked to consider the adoption of the alternative system.
A report before members says: “Should council wish to remain on the FPTP system then no further action is required at this stage by council.
“Should council conclude they wish to consider the STV further then we will move to a period of public consultation before bringing a report back to council, at which point council will vote to change the system to STV but will need a two thirds majority to do so.”
The more complex STV system differs in a number of ways, including that every single county council ward would need to be multi-member, with voters ranking the candidates according to their order of preference.
It is recommended Ceredigion retains the existing system, as used in general elections.
The implementation of new voting arrangements would require additional financial resources to enable the council to implement this significant change in election arrangements.
Back in October, neighbouring Pembrokeshire voted against adopting the STV system at its monthly meeting. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​