The Democratic Alliance (DA) will provide real-time coverage of tomorrow's local government election via Twitter.
Using the hashtag #LGEResults, DA strategist Ryan Coetzee (@RyanCoetzee); DA head of election communications, Gareth van Onselen (@GvanOnselen); and DA CEO Jonathan Moakes (@Jonathan_Moakes), will provide coverage of results, analysis and projections based on the DA's internal data.
According to the DA, the party has real-time projections and predictive statistical models that have been specially developed for this purpose, and “are without parallel in SA”.
“If you want to know what's happening before anyone else, what will happen and what it all means, it is strongly suggested you follow our accounts,” says Van Onselen.
He explains that the DA representatives will be based at the Independent Electoral Commission's national results centre in Pretoria.
“Between us, we will identify key results as they come in; for example, what can be understood by the result in a particular voting district and what it means more broadly.”
Twitter as a platform
In the run-up to the elections, the DA has been active on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
On Sundays, the DA has hosted its weekly “Twitter Town Hall” live question and answer sessions.
This month, the ANC also began hosting Q&A sessions on Twitter, but came under criticism for its lack of social media-savvy, as some questions went unanswered.
Van Onselen says: “Obviously, during election time, everyone is focused on the party and it makes sense to have a forum, such as the one we have created on Twitter, to enable people to engage with party officials and to have their questions answered.
“Twitter is growing exponentially in SA, and it is certainly one of the best ways to communicate with people, because it opens up new avenues,” says Van Onselen.
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