Saturday, November 01, 2008

Zambia Poised to Elect Black President

MMD candidate Rupiah Banda will likely win the Zambian presidential election, barring a recount after questions of rigging arose. Following the election of a black man as president, Zambians are congratulating themselves for their show of tolerance.

"No, I never considered race in determining my vote," said one taxi driver from Lusaka. When interviewed, many other Zambians alleged the same level of enlightenment. Some even seemed confused when the question of race surfaced.

But not everyone agrees. Geraldine Ferraro made the assertion that Rupiah Banda is very lucky to be black and his race was responsible for his electoral success. She also attributed Banda's opponents' defeat to sexism. When told that all four presidential candidates were black men, Ferraro took an unprovoked swipe at Obama and announced that she is endorsing McCain because he cares about women's "health."

Perhaps a shopkeeper from Ndola best summed up the historic achievement of electing a black president in Zambia, "This guy was already the acting president. In fact, every president of an independent Zambia has been black. We're an African country. Is this some kind of joke?"

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