The toss of a two-rand coin secured a candidate his seat on a municipal council on Wednesday.
Laurence Jiba, of the ANC, and Pat Puchert, of the Democratic Alliance, each won 2 266 votes - after several re-counts - in East London's Cambridge ward.
In line with the Municipal Electoral Act, which even defines which side of a coin is heads and which tails, they then presented themselves to the electoral officer in charge, along with a neutral umpire.
Jiba, by virtue of the ANC's alphabetical superiority, had the privilege of calling. He chose heads - and heads it was.
Puchert said the idea of tossing a coin had come as a shock to her.
"I didn't know we could decide a vote on the toss of a coin - I'd never heard of it. But I've accepted it," she said.
She will still have a seat on the council, though, from the DA's proportional representation list.
The Democratic Alliance's provincial chairman, Athol Trollip said the outcome was a "huge disappointment" to his party.
However it was also a testament to political tolerance and the maturity of democracy in South Africa.
He did not believe that sort of outcome would have been accepted anywhere else in the world. - Sapa-AFP
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