Johannesburg, Friday, 29 July 2016 : On Sunday 31 July, Times Media will be launching an innovative web application that allows South Africans to follow the progress (and drama) of Wednesday's local government elections, in real time. The application has been optimised to work seamlessly on mobile devices as well as PC's, and can be accessed via http://elections.timeslive.co.za.
Andrew Trench, Digital Editor at Times Media says: "We're confident that our local elections web application – particularly our battlegrounds dashboard – well help readers make sense of what promises to be a fascinating, but complex election."
The unique "battlegrounds dashboard" is a tool that will allow users to zoom in and monitor the key political contests in Nelson Mandela Bay, Johannesburg, Tshwane, and elsewhere in great detail while the votes are being counted.
The application also offers interactive election maps comparing the 2016 local government poll results to those from 2011, and will update continuously as the results stream in from the Independent Electoral Commission.
South Africans are also able to confirm their voting-station location simply by entering their identity number. The voting history of one's ward, neighbourhood, city and province can also be accessed.
Leading journalists from the Sunday Times, The Times, Business Day, Sowetan and Times Media's digital and multimedia news teams will work together to provide comprehensive, round-the-clock coverage of the elections.
"This data-driven application will augment the quality coverage from the army of Times Media journalists who will be covering the poll for multiple platforms, and we believe it will empower our readers to extract valuable knowledge and insight from this important political event," says Trench.
The application was developed in partnership with outshine in Stellenbosch.
Click here to download the Media Release
