Ex-Plaid leader's 2026 re-election bid in doubt

Former Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price is unlikely to be re-elected in next year's Senedd election.

Cefin Campbell and Nerys Evans are the top two candidates the party will put forward for the new seat, while Price is third, the BBC has been told.

Plaid Cymru's rules aim for gender equality, meaning the second name on each regional list must be a woman.

The party would expect to win two of the six Sir Gaerfyrddin seats and face a challenge from Reform and Labour at the election in May 2026.

Price said: "I would like to thank the members that showed me support during this process and congratulate Cefin on topping the list."

Plaid's selection process is more competitive than Labour's or the Conservatives as the party is not giving its current MSs any preferential treatment and is prioritising gender balance in how it determines the order of candidates.

In Sir Gaerfyrddin, this means that if a woman tops the local members' selection, another woman must also be placed second on the list of up to eight candidates on the ballot.

If a man takes the top spot, a woman would still be required to take second place.

With Campbell and Evans occupying the top spots, the prospects of Price securing a seat seem more uncertain.

The exact votes cast for each member is yet to be confirmed but it is understood the selection process concluded on Thursday evening.

Price became leader of the Plaid Cymru in 2018 and led the party into the 2021 Senedd election with a pledge to hold a referendum on Welsh independence within five years if it won power.

However, the party finished third behind Labour and the Welsh Conservatives.

Following the election, Price signed a co-operation agreement with the Labour government, helping to deliver policies such as universal free school meals.

In 2022, the party became engulfed by claims of a toxic culture, culminating in a report by Evans that said it had tolerated "too many instances of bad behaviour".

Price stepped down as leader in 2023.

Evans was an Assembly Member from 2007 to 2011, with Campbell elected to the Senedd in 2021.

Behind Price on the list is former Llanelli candidate Mari Arthur, who now works in marketing and the sustainable energy sector.

Iwan Griffiths, a Carmarthenshire councillor, is fifth, followed by Abi Thomas, a former Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire candidate.

Wales' new election map has 16 seats, each electing six MSs, with the voting system electing members from party lists.

Price congratulated Campbell for topping the list.

"The task now is for our team of candidates to work together and ensure our best ever result in Sir Gar at the next Senedd elections," he said

Had Adam Price had his way we could be on the verge of a referendum on Welsh independence.

Holding one within five years was central to his pitch at the 2021 Senedd election, but Plaid finished third.

He seemed resigned to coming third again - this time in his party's list - when I spoke to him at Plaid's spring conference in March.

For some in the party his resignation in 2023 and the scandal surrounding Jonathan Edwards - the former MP in Price's Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency - still cast a long shadow.

It is not impossible for Price and Plaid to win three seats in Sir Gaerfyrddin, but they would need a good night.

Despite having topped a recent poll, Plaid's selection process could cost them two big names - Price and economy spokesman Luke Fletcher.