2003 Plaid Cymru leadership election

2003 Plaid Cymru leadership election

8 May 2003 (2003-05-08) – 15 September 2003 (2003-09-15)

Candidate Ieuan Wyn Jones Helen Mary Jones Rhodri Glyn Thomas First round 2,078 2,089 1,014 Percentage 40.1% 40.3% 19.6% Final round 2,603 2,532 — Percentage 51.7% 49.3% —

Leader before election Ieuan Wyn Jones Elected Leader Ieuan Wyn Jones

The 2003 Plaid Cymru leadership election was held following the resignation of Ieuan Wyn Jones after a disappointing showing in the 2003 Assembly elections where the party fell from 17 to 12 seats.

Ieuan Wyn Jones had led the party since 2000.

Ieuan Wyn Jones initially resigned but then decided to contest the leadership election, he was challenged by Helen Mary Jones whom he had defeated three years previously, as well as Rhodri Glyn Thomas.

The contest was narrowly won by Ieuan Wyn Jones in the final round with 2,603 votes, against Helen Mary Jones' 2,532.

Results

Candidate		First round		Second round
		Votes	%	Transfers	Votes	%
style="background:Template:Plaid Cymru/meta/color;"|	Ieuan Wyn Jones	2,078	40.1	525	2,603	51.7
style="background:Template:Plaid Cymru/meta/color;"|	Helen Mary Jones	2,089	40.3	443	2,532	49.3
style="background:Template:Plaid Cymru/meta/color;"|	Rhodri Glyn Thomas	1,014	19.6
	Total	5,181	100	968	5,135	100