The Botswana Democratic Party was returned to power in this weekend’s elections. The BDP has ruled the country uninterrupted since independence in 1966 through an electoral system–first past the post–that favors them just fine. The incumbent president, General Seretse Ian Khama, his family and supporters treat the Presidency like some hereditary office. There’s also widespread poverty, professionals leave and it has the highest infection rates of AIDS per capita. Of course there’s no crisis here and none of the “democracy activists” in West makes a stink. Botswana, according to them, is a “success story.”

As for Khama’s election campaign, he promised “… a campaign to discourage heavy drinking with a tax on alcohol a highlight of his tenure.”

Further Reading