Community Speaks: How the BizNews Tribe reacted to vote-counting day as it happened

At 05:09 on Thursday, while the IEC dashboard ticked through the overnight count, the BizNews Premium election WhatsApp group was already reading the small print. Through the day, Tribe members called council results hours before they reached the headlines, argued over what the numbers meant, and corrected each other when they got it wrong.This is counting day from 05:00 to 21:00: the results as they came through, and how the Tribe reacted..Be in the room when the results land. Join BizNews Premium to get access to 20+ Premium WhatsApp group..BizNews Reporter.05:00–09:00: The night shift finds the small-town stories.On the count: small rural councils, the fastest to finish, reported overnight. The first declared result, a DA win at one Eastern Cape voting station, was reported at 07:13.The Tribe was ahead of that, working through the IEC dashboard council by council. The first post of the day came from Hermanus:."A strong showing for the DA in Hermanus and surrounds – retaining a comfortable majority with virtually all of the voting stations having reported."Alec Hogg, BizNews Editor.The surprises followed. ActionSA topped little Laingsburg with 26.6%. In Kamiesberg, the PMC polled 8% and beat the Patriotic Alliance to a seat. In Prince Albert, the PA took 49% and five of the 10 seats.."This promises to be an election of surprises… ActionSA has come from nowhere in little Laingsburg."Alec Hogg, BizNews Editor.In Thembelihle (Hopetown), the coalition mayor's SGB party slumped to 1.5%. That drew the morning's sharpest comment:."Maybe voters are starting to realise they have the power to hire and fire their political leaders."Alec Hogg, BizNews Editor.09:00–12:00: Reading the tea leaves.On the count: at 09:42 the CSIR's first national projection put the ANC on 31.5%, the DA on 26% and MK on 9%. At 10:46 the IEC said it had scanned 35.5% of results slips, ahead of its 2021 pace.A screenshot of one candidate standing in 112 wards set off the morning's most useful exchange.."112 wards contested by one candidate?"Tahnia, BizNews Tribe Member."Anything is possible with AI."Stu, BizNews Tribe Member."That's an idiosyncrasy of the system (ward votes are counted twice so councillors stand in lots of wards to try maximise). The extremities of SA's PR system, HZ was trying to explain this for a year."Seán McLaughlin, BizNews Tribe Member and Norsira founder.At 09:55 came the day's first big read of the metros:."ANC fall catastrophic in JHB … Similar in NMB … DA to hold CT."Seán McLaughlin.The DA held Kouga, and Jeffreys Bay noticed:."Excellent news for J-Bay and surrounding area."Paul, BizNews Tribe Member.Not every theory held up. One post blamed KZN's slow count on recounts:."Typically KZN count is delayed due to re counts being demanded… Guess who."Robyn, BizNews Tribe Member.The IEC's KZN electoral officer, Ntombifuthi Masinga, later said there was "no particular anomaly". eThekwini, she said, is always counted last because of the ballot's size and logistics..12:00–16:00: The pushback.On the count: at 12:04 Gwede Mantashe said the ANC's 32% was "not the final result" because townships had not been counted: "We may go beyond 40%." At 12:26 Geordin Hill-Lewis declared a DA win in Cape Town.The Tribe had raised Mantashe's argument before he made it:."Are the really dense township voting districts and wards often counted last? (longstanding ANC strongholds)"Seán McLaughlin."This looks like ANC is still coming out on top nationally. But let's see as the days progress."Michael, BizNews Tribe Member.Reports at 17:43 answered the question. This time, apart from Alexandra, the township vote was counted earlier than in past elections. The late ANC recovery did not come..It wasn't all bad news for the ANC though.."ANC has done very well in Northern Cape. It seems to be well organised there."Seán McLaughlin."So far the only province where the ANC still enjoys over 50% majority is Limpopo."Tahnia, BizNews Tribe Member.And one midday call would be confirmed nine hours later:."MK outright Majority Richmond."Seán McLaughlin.16:00–21:00: Coalition country.On the count: ActionSA's Herman Mashaba claimed "an official mandate from the forgotten people". MK's Duduzane Zuma said of KZN: "Champagne is on ice." The DA projected 213 hung councils. At 19:06 the IEC put preliminary turnout at 54.2%, up from 46.2% in 2021. At 21:06 ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli said the party had expected 42–43%, about 10 points above the count..The Tribe had been doing the coalition arithmetic since lunchtime:."The IFP-DA nexus in many KZN councils such as Newcastle and Endumeni (Dundee) may need to bring in a shrunken ANC reduced to 15-20% to keep out MK."Seán McLaughlin.DA KZN leader Dean Macpherson took the opposite line at 15:59, warning that any party working with MK would be "infected with that toxicity".At 21:28 MK won Richmond outright with 56.3%. The ANC had taken the council with nearly 70% in 2021.The last word goes to a member thinking past the coalition talks:."Any councillor that wins should invite all 59 to stick around and work with them to help deliver to the ward in question."Yahya, BizNews Tribe Member.Counting continues overnight. Reports say it should finish by Saturday, with the IEC's declaration set for Sunday evening.

Community Speaks: How the BizNews Tribe reacted to vote-counting day as it happened

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