The first
National Assembly for Wales elections were held on 6 May 1999. The overall turnout of voters was 46.3%. Although
Welsh Labour were the biggest party, they did not gain enough seats to form a majority government and instead entered into coalition with the
Liberal Democrats. The election was marked by the historically high level of support for
Plaid Cymru, who won their highest share of the vote in any Wales-wide election and, as of 2011, their highest number of seats in an Assembly election to date. The party won considerable support in traditionally safe Labour areas such as the
South Wales Valleys, winning
Rhondda and
Islwyn and narrowly failing to win a number of other seats.