I arrived at Jan Smuts airport 20 days before counting started and drove to Johannesburg. Like a street hustler, Jo'burg is friendly, threadbare, and menacing. But depressed gold prices, a drought, and sanctions have taken their toll. The wealthy white suburbs are tidy and peaceful, but the city itself is run-down and dangerous. The streets reek of garbage and urine.
Muggings are common after dark.
I didn't have much time to worry about Jo'burg's decline, however. After I checked into the hotel, I went over to the Independent Electoral Commission headquarters to get started. I worked there every day for the next 25 days, an average of 16 hours a day, scattered around the clock in an irregular blur. The Commission, headquartered in a 10-story building five blocks from our hotel, was a caricature of a busy office building. People were charging around and shouting at each other 24 hours a day.