Welsh Assembly election 2016: Who will win and what are the issues at stake? Everything you need to know

Everything you need to know about Thursday's election in Wales

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood arrives at a polling station in Penygraig, Rhondda, Wales (PA)

What’s being voted on?

Voters in Wales will elect the Welsh Assembly, which decides the composition of the Welsh Government – a devolved administration with powers over health, education, local government, and other areas of policy in Wales.

Read our guides to the 2016 UK elections

What are the main issues at stake?

Sajid Javid speaks with steelworkers at Tata Steel's steel plant in Port Talbot on April 1, 2016. (AFP/Stringer) (AFP / Stringer)

The election takes place while thousands of steel jobs at Port Talbot are hanging in the balance; Labour has backed nationalisation of the plant to save it from closure.

Plaid Cymru, who support Welsh independence, are also calling for a referendum on further powers for the Assembly.

Who’s going to win?

Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones outside Downing Street ( Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images) (AFP/Getty)

Labour are almost certainly going to come first, the question is whether they retain their very narrow majority in the Assembly.

If they can’t they will have to form a coalition or do a deal, probably with the Liberal Democrats or Plaid Cymru. Polls are currently inconclusive and the result could go either way.

When will we know the result?

The votes will be counted overnight and the winner will become apparent in the early hours of the morning, depending on recounts and other delays.

How do the elections work?

The Welsh Assembly elected using a system of proportional representation called the “additional member system” – members (AMs) are elected to represent constituencies in Wales; but voters also have a second vote that elects AMs to represent larger regions.

The regional AMs are added to the result to make sure the final result is proportional to the votes cast, which helps smaller parties who don’t have enough concentrated support to win a constituency.