WHILE the focus is on elections to Ceredigion County Council, a handful of town and community councillors in the county will also be elected on Thursday. The vast majority of Ceredigion voters will not go to the polls in town and community council elections this year, with just three councils having enough nominations to force ward elections. Four wards on Aberystwyth Town Council will be up for grabs. Bronglais ward will see four councillors elected from five candidates: Talat Chaudhri (Plaid), Lucy Huws (Plaid), Ewan Lawry (Conservative), Mari Turner (Plaid), and Alun Williams (Plaid).

In Central ward, three councillors will be elected from four candidates: Owain Hughes (Plaid), Emlyn Wyn Jones (Plaid), David Lees (Liberal Democrat), and Sienna Quinn Lewis (Plaid).

North ward has six candidates for its three seats with Bryony Davies (Liberal Democrat), Sam Hall (Welsh Conservatives), CJ Peasely (Green), Maldwyn Pryse (Plaid), Mark Strong (Plaid) and Jeff Smith (Plaid) vying for votes. The town’s Rheidol ward will see four councillors elected from five candidates: Mair Benjamin (Liberal Democrat); Brian Davies (Plaid), Kerry Ferguson (Plaid), Nick Hubble (Plaid) and Mathew Norman (Labour). All three Cardigan wards on the town council will be contested. The Mwldan ward has seen nine candidates stand for its six seats: John Adams-Lewis, Clive Davies (Plaid), Teresa Harries (Liberal Democrat), Gwyneth Hughes-Phillips (Plaid), Dyfi Jones (Plaid), Richard Morgan Jones (Plaid), David Maehrlein (Liberal Democrat) Sian Maehrlein (Liberal Democrat) and Steffen Morgan (Plaid). The Rhydyfuwch ward will have seven candidates for the four available seats with Nick Bolton (Liberal Democrat), Elaine Evans (Liberal Democrat), Marilyn Farmer (Liberal Democrat), Trystan Phillips (Plaid), John Pope (Labour), Morvenna Dorita Richards (Plaid), and Robin Stanley (Plaid) all standing for election. The Teifi ward also has seven candidates for its four seats: Olwen Davies (Liberal Democrat), Stephen Greenhalgh (Liberal Democrat), Dafydd Ladd (Plaid), Catrin Miles (Plaid), Philippa Noble (Liberal Democrat), Becky Oldfield (Plaid), and Yve O’Neill (Liberal Democrat). The only other voters set to go to the polls to elect community councillors are those in the Haminiog ward for Llanrhystud where nine candidates have been put forward for the ward’s seven seats. On the ballot are Gareth Morgan Flynn, Charles Greeb (Independent), Harry Hayfield (Green), Benjamin Gwyn Jones, Dewi Irfon Sinnett Jones, Morris Jones, Donald Morgan, Sharon Marie Richards, and Dafydd Iestyn Tudur-Jones. Voters within those wards will be able to vote for town councillors at the same time as casting votes in the county council election.

•Plaid Cymru candidate Mark Strong, is standing for both the county and Aberystwyth town council on Thursday.

Mr Strong, who is currently in rehabilitation therapy to recover from his stroke and unable to canvass, is standing for the Morfa Glais ward for the county council.

He is also standing for Aberystwyth North ward on the town council, but was left off the list in a story featured in last week’s Cambrian News.