By  John Phiri –

The US Presidential election is the biggest event in American politics. It’s an exciting and complicated process that begins immediately after the preceding election and doesn’t end until the voters have cast their vote.
What’s really exciting about America’s elections and politics is that campaigns continue even after elections unlike in Zambia where they end immediately after elections with the opposition parties going to sleep to resurface during the next election.
What exactly happens during this extended campaign is a quest not just for the votes, but also for political contributions, favourable media coverage, internet attention, endorsements and all the other makings of the winning candidacy for highest elected office in America.
Key elements along the way include primaries and caucuses, the party conventions and the debates- not to mention all the speeches, polls and focus groups, plus the barrage of radio and television commercials imploring Americans to vote this way or that.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed and that is why I decided to write this article because in 2008, I was blessed to be the only Zambian among the first 100 international election observers who witnessed the history in the making which saw the first black man in American history take over the most powerful office in the world -The white house.
The program I went for was called the I-VOTE 2008 (International Visitors observe the elections).
This multi-regional program exposed 100 international election observers to the US political system as America was preparing to elect the 44th President.
Election observers where hand-picked by US Ambassadors worldwide and in Zambia the blessing fell upon me.
The program was timed to coincide with the final countdown before Election Day (4th November). Our main task as international election observers was to examine the political issues surrounding the 2008 America elections and gain an appreciation of the 2008 campaign strategies and tactics and of the historical and constitutional framework of the political process in the United States.
The program began in Washington D.C with an overview of the 2008 campaigns by political experts and leading practitioners. The program also facilitated for us election observers to visit hotly contested large electoral or swing states that were particularly significant to the outcome of the election to gain a sense of the political environment just days before Election Day.
As election observers, we travelled in pairs to as many as 50 towns and cities across the United States to observe last minute campaigning, visit polling places, watch election results, and attend victory or concession events in the communities.
The program ended in Boston where all of us International election observers re-united at the Harvard University Kennedy School of government and analyzed the outcome of the 2008 US elections.
When I arrived in Washington D.C on 25th October, I was overwhelmed by sentiments from different Americans.The indicators pointed out that the American Voters this time around where highly-motivated and that the turn out should be up.
I could personally feel that this was a nervous time for America as America for the first time was going in the mother of all elections.
A Preliminary discussion with my fellow international election observers revealed a very interesting aspect of the strengths and weaknesses of the leading Presidential candidate.
The younger senator Barack Obama was coming out stronger in the initial observations a lawyer and a good orator. Obama had strategically chosen a 65 year old man with political experience of over 35 years as running mate.
His slogan ‘change is what America needs’ seemed to click more with the present issues while Mc Cain’s country first, reforms, prosperity and peace didn’t seem to strike the right chords. At times, it seemed like the Republicans had already given in.
It was amazing to learn that 40 percent of Americans would have voted by mail before November 4th. I was shocked when I learnt that each state in America has got its own laws including electoral laws.
In some states, they vote by mail, some by voting machines while some by the ballot. I just kept wondering how all these different voting systems will bring about accountability, transparency and above all free and fair election.
I was also amazed that America had been running a parallel campaign to make voters aware of their rights which is a continuous process for America’s electoral process; something that I strongly believe is the biggest problem in Zambia’s electoral process.
Voter education and registration usually starts when the general election is around the corner but on principal, it has to be a continuous process.
I had a chance to chat with some political experts in American politics and they told me they were expecting the largest ever voter turnout.
Some analysts and experts I spoke to told me American voters had already decided who they will vote for something that really touched me because our democracy in Zambia allows more than 10 Presidential candidates who usually confuse the voters and I hope one day we can address this issue constitutionally as a country.
It was interesting how confident these analysts and experts were to believe that there were no undecided votes.
All the way as we went round the United States, between the Presidential candidates, Barack Obama still seemed to be in the lead.
He was going all out. He had more funds- $600 Million and was making optimum use of the money. Everywhere we went, adverts were running on television, radio and internet. Obama had more volunteers than Mac Cain.
I had a rare privilege and honor when we went to Ohio in Cincinnati. We visited the Obama campaign Head Quarters. It was unbelievable just how the Obama volunteers where making phone calls for him and literally knocking on the doors for him.
I remember being approached in Minnesota when Bill Clinton had a rally for Obama, a group of Obama youth campaigners pounced on us international observers; and where asking us to register for Obama.
We told them we are international observers and that we couldn’t side with anyone but they couldn’t take no for an answer until finally they let us go.
The other advantage I observed about Obama is that he had been to all the 50 states of America something I learnt about the Zambian opposition party leaders which they don’t do.
You can’t become a President of a country if you just align yourself with a certain region or province. You need to reach out to all the people you want to lead and represent. Obama’s strategy had been highly appreciated by the political experts.
Most Americans I spoke to were optimistic that Obama will bring the US out of Iraq. According to reports that were coming out then, people in America felt Obama would be able to work more effectively with the allies to restore America’s credibility.
Selection of the Vice Presidential candidate by Republicans came as an advantage to Obama. Also of the Jews 70% were going to vote for Obama.
Mc Cain had been a Senator for 30 years and a foreign policy expert. I remember, Mc Cain trying to shift from financial crises to foreign relations crisis during his campaigns.
In the past according to the information I gathered, he had been handling International crisis but this time you could see that he didn’t have an advantage of having close relations with the international leaders.
Unlike Obama, who had gone all out, Mc Cain had been focusing on states where Republican Party has always been strong in the past.
Mc Cain’s pull out from Michigan also gave a boost to Obama’s campaign. Investment banking collapse too came as an advantage for Obama.
Political Experts I spoke to also felt Mc Cain’s vice Presidential candidate (the controversial Sarah Palin)  lacked experience and most Americans I spoke to felt Sarah Palin was not capable to take over as President in case something happened to Mc Cain.
Even though the Republican Party used her to get female and conservative votes, the negatives outnumbered the positives. I personally was shocked when I was in Boston and heard that Sarah Palin didn’t know whether Africa was a continent or a country something which I personally observed surprised a lot of Americans. May be that also contributed.
The 2008 US election made me realize that Presidential elections in a country are so important and that they determine the course of a nation.
It is for this reason that every individual during election time; must take advantage of such times to help contribute to shaping the direction of their country and the country’s future through voting.
I was especially fascinated by the role the youth played especially the Obama youth campaigners. As we went round the 50 states, you could feel a strong wind of change blowing across the United States just the same way it felt in 2011 during the ‘DON’CH KU BEBA’ wind of change when Micheal Chilufya Sata was running for President (MHRP).
Obama’s youth just like Sata’s youth where so energetic and much focused on change and you could not compromise with them on anything other than campaigning for’ change they could believe in’.
One thing that also touched me is the strong bond Obama created with the American youth. I remember when I attended the Obama rally in Ohio Cincinnati, I couldn’t believe watching Obama live because I was only seeing him on BBC and CNN when I was in Zambia.
I want to categorically state that having analyzed the 2008 US elections and the 2011 Zambia elections the youth are the ones who determined the victory of the two leaders.
I feel very challenged as a leader now and in the future of Zambia in terms of what I can contribute to help change the status core to help the youth get their rightful position so that they can be loved and be respected as partners in development and that politicians should stop looking at them as threats but rather look at them as a Window of hope to better Zambia’s future.
In conclusion I would like thank the American government through the US department of State for having the uttermost faith in my abilities and capabilities by according me such a rare and memorable opportunity that will continue to impact on my life and above all the Almighty God who allowed me to be among the group of people to monitor such a historic election.  (The Author is a Youth Rights Advocate).