39.Section 13 provides that the member’s seat becomes vacant once the constituency returning officer makes a declaration under section 12(2)(c)(i) that the member subject to the recall poll is to be removed. Under subsection 13(4), the validity of Senedd proceedings is not affected by the vacancy before the Presiding Officer is notified of it under paragraph 12(2)(d). The vacancy will be filled in accordance with section 11 of the 2006 Act. Section 11 provides that under the closed list proportional system, if a seat held by a member who was returned from a party list becomes vacant, the vacancy is to be filled by the highest-placed person on the list who meets the relevant ‘conditions’ in section 11 and who has not already been returned. If there are no candidates remaining on the party’s list who are eligible at the time to fill the vacancy, or if the member whose seat has become vacant was returned as an individual candidate, the seat will remain vacant until the next general election.
Commentary on Sections Part 1 – Recall of Members of the Senedd Section 13 – Effect of declaration that a Member of the Senedd is removed