Plaid Cymru Leadership 2012

Nominations have opened for candidates vying to take the helm of Plaid Cymru.

The current leader of the nationalists Ieuan Wyn Jones announced he would step down following a "disappointing" result in May's assembly election.

Four AMs - Elin Jones, Lord Elis Thomas, Simon Thomas and Leanne Wood - have so far announced their intention to stand.

Nominations close on January 26 and the winner will be decided by the alternative vote system.

The election is open to party members and new members will also have a vote if they join before the close of nominations.

The new leader will be announced at a special event in Cardiff on March 15.

Mr Jones has led the party since 2000 - and helped guide them into government for the first time in the party's history when they formed a coalition with Labour during the previous assembly term.

However, Plaid lost four seats at the last election - and saw the Conservatives leapfrog them as the second largest party in the Senedd.

Former agriculture minister Ceredigion AM Elin Jones said her leadership of Plaid would focus on making Wales more prosperous.

"I want to make sure in Wales as a whole we are able to appeal to people of all backgrounds, people who haven't voted Plaid in the past but who share my ambition for change," she added.

"Ultimately our ambition is to make Wales a successful independent nation."

Former MP and current Mid and West Wales AM Simon Thomas plans to bring a "consensual style" of leadership to Plaid.

He said: "We need to make sure the next leader is somebody who can work with a whole range of opinions and differences within the party and bring people together."

However South Wales Central AM Leanne Wood, who was first elected in 2003, argues that independence should now be one of Plaid's main targets.

She said: "My first-hand experience of recession and its impact during the 1980s gives me a determination to make sure that we do not lose yet another generation to youth unemployment.

"Tackling those economic challenges goes hand in hand with our journey to independence."

Lord Elis Thomas, AM for Dwyfor Meirionydd, will not comment formally until he has been nominated by his party locally.

Latest odds for winning the leadership are:

Elin Jones 4/6 http://www.assemblywales.org/memhome/mem-ceredigion

Leanne Wood 3/1 http://senedd.assemblywales.org/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=185

Dafydd Elis-Thomas 7/2 http://senedd.assemblywales.org/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=146

Simon Thomas 7/1 http://www.senedd.assemblywales.org/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=383