Out of curiosity, if the UK switched to AV plus would they have had to do away with count announcements described above?
Most certainly.
Is the UK the only country that does it that way? I wonder why it never caught on (or if it did, why it was eventually replaced) in Canada and Australia, for instance. It definitely makes for great viewing seeing all the candidates stand together, but it can also make watching the results kind of anti-climactic.
The UK is indeed the only country in the world to have every election result counted and announced on election night.
Well seeing as France has a two-round system it isn't a great comparison.
Well, still, every election result is counted and announced on election night. Generally within no more than 4 hours of the last polls closing.
