English: I have to say at the outset that my preference is for the Senedd elections to go ahead as planned on 6 May, but only if is safe to do so, because we are in the middle of an unpredictable pandemic that kills hundreds of people in Wales each week. Thousands of people have died in the past year, and thousands more are left struggling to breathe or battling terrible fatigue for many months, and it's all due to this awful disease - a disease that has led to half of our critical beds and a quarter of our hospitals being full of patients with COVID-19. It has led to exams being cancelled for schoolchildren for the second year in a row, and parents across the nation struggling to home school their children. And it's led to the closure of large parts of our economy, thousands of businesses failing and tens of thousands losing their jobs. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated, it has become more virulent and is still infecting hundreds of our citizens each day. But we have hope, hope that we didn't have this time last year. We have two vaccines being delivered, with hopefully more on the way. Whilst we have got off to a great start, we have only delivered the first dose to around 8 per cent of the population. We don't expect to have vaccinated everyone until the end of this year. So, in light of all this, how can we possibly hold free and fair elections? In the past few weeks, I've heard others point out that larger democracies have held elections, mostly pointing to the USA, but their elections are not like our elections, and US citizens have weeks to vote. We have 15 hours. US citizens rely on televised debates to get information about their candidates, and we knock on people's doors to introduce ourselves. So, unless we vastly change the way we conduct elections, it's difficult to see how we could safely hold elections whilst the pandemic continues to run rife. We also have to consider whether we have the manpower to even run an election. Should we be diverting resources away from bringing a swift end to the pandemic toward running an election? Of course, we could see vast improvements over the next couple of months, allowing us to hold free and fair elections, but by the same token, we could see things worsen. Who knows what the new variants will bring? As more people become infected, the more chances this virus has to mutate. So, God forbid we see a variant that is resistant to the vaccines. So, if the past year's taught us anything, it's that this pandemic is unpredictable. It therefore makes sense for us to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. So, I hope we can hold elections in May, but we have to introduce this emergency Bill so that we can postpone them if it's not safe to hold them in 14 weeks' time, and public safety is of paramount importance. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Welsh: Rhaid imi ddweud ar y dechrau mai fy newis i yw i etholiadau'r Senedd fynd rhagddynt fel y bwriadwyd ar 6 Mai, ond dim ond os yw'n ddiogel gwneud hynny, oherwydd rydym ni yng nghanol pandemig anrhagweladwy sy'n lladd cannoedd o bobl yng Nghymru bob wythnos. Mae miloedd o bobl wedi marw yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, ac mae miloedd yn fwy yn cael trafferth anadlu neu'n brwydro yn erbyn blinder ofnadwy am fisoedd lawer, ac mae'r cyfan oherwydd y clefyd ofnadwy hwn - clefyd sydd wedi arwain at sefyllfa lle mae hanner ein gwelyau critigol a chwarter ein hysbytai yn llawn cleifion â COVID-19. Mae wedi arwain at ganslo arholiadau ar gyfer plant ysgol am yr ail flwyddyn yn olynol, a rhieni ar draws y wlad yn ei chael hi'n anodd addysgu eu plant gartref. Ac mae wedi arwain at lyffetheirio rhannau helaeth o'n heconomi, miloedd o fusnesau'n methu a degau o filoedd yn colli eu swyddi. Mae feirws SARS-CoV-2 wedi mwtadu, mae wedi dod yn fwy ffyrnig ac mae'n dal i heintio cannoedd o'n dinasyddion bob dydd. Ond mae gennym ni obaith, gobaith nad oedd gennym ni yr adeg hon y llynedd. Mae gennym ni ddau frechlyn yn cael eu darparu, gyda mwy ar y ffordd gobeithio. Er ein bod wedi dechrau'n dda, dim ond i tua 8 y cant o'r boblogaeth yr ydym ni wedi darparu'r dos cyntaf. Nid ydym ni yn disgwyl i bawb gael eu brechu tan ddiwedd eleni. Felly, yng ngoleuni hyn i gyd, sut y gallwn ni gynnal etholiadau rhydd a theg? Yn ystod yr wythnosau diwethaf, rwyf wedi clywed eraill yn tynnu sylw at y ffaith bod democratiaethau mwy wedi cynnal etholiadau, gan gyfeirio'n bennaf at yr Unol Daleithiau, ond nid yw eu hetholiadau fel ein hetholiadau ni, ac mae gan ddinasyddion yr Unol Daleithiau wythnosau i bleidleisio. Mae gennym ni 15 awr. Dibynna dinasyddion yr Unol Daleithiau ar ddadleuon ar y teledu i gael gwybodaeth am eu hymgeiswyr, ac rydym ni yn curo ar ddrysau pobl i gyflwyno ein hunain. Felly, oni bai ein bod yn newid y ffordd yr ydym ni'n cynnal etholiadau'n sylweddol, mae'n anodd gweld sut y gallem gynnal etholiadau'n ddiogel tra bo'r pandemig yn parhau i fod yn rhemp. Rhaid inni hefyd ystyried a oes gennym y gweithlu i gynnal etholiad hyd yn oed. A ddylem fod yn dargyfeirio adnoddau o'r gwaith o geisio dod â'r pandemig i ben yn gyflym tuag at gynnal etholiad? Wrth gwrs, gallem weld gwelliannau enfawr dros yr ychydig fisoedd nesaf, a fyddai'n caniatáu inni gynnal etholiadau rhydd a theg, ond yn yr un modd, gallem weld pethau'n gwaethygu. Pwy a ŵyr beth a ddaw yn sgil yr amrywiolion newydd? Wrth i fwy o bobl gael eu heintio, mae mwy o siawns gan y feirws hwn i fwtadu. Felly, Duw a'n gwaredo os gwelwn ni amrywiolyn sy'n gwrthsefyll y brechlynnau. Felly, os yw'r flwyddyn ddiwethaf wedi dysgu unrhyw beth i ni, mae'r pandemig hwn yn anrhagweladwy. Felly, mae'n gwneud synnwyr inni obeithio am y gorau, ond paratoi ar gyfer y gwaethaf. Felly, rwy'n gobeithio y gallwn ni gynnal etholiadau ym mis Mai, ond mae'n rhaid i ni gyflwyno'r Bil brys hwn fel y gallwn ni eu gohirio os nad yw'n ddiogel eu cynnal ymhen 14 wythnos, ac mae diogelwch y cyhoedd o'r pwys mwyaf. Diolch yn fawr iawn.