尼日利亚总统选举延迟一天

 　　ABUJA, NIGERIA—Millions of Nigerians turned out to choose a new president Saturday, but technical problems with a new computerized anti-fraud system caused delays and long lines and prompted officials to extend voting into Sunday.

　　It was unclear how widespread the problems were, but the decision to extend the vote, which pits incumbent¹ Goodluck Jonathan against his main rival, Muhammadu Buhari, added more uncertainty² to an already tense election campaign.

　　Officials had already postponed³ the vote in February, citing security concerns from the Boko Haram insurgency⁴, which has ravaged⁵ the country's northeast.

　　Technical Problems Mar⁶ Nigerian Election; Voting Extended By a Day

　　Voting Saturday was marred⁷ by an attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents⁸ in the northeastern state of Gombe. Witnesses told VOA that gunmen attacked three villages in the state, killing⁹ at least 24 people.

　　Insurgents also killed 25 people in a Borno state village, in the northeast, on Friday, Governor Kashim Settima said.

　　Voting problems

　　Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party are facing a tough challenge from Buhari and his opposition¹⁰ backers, the All Progressives Congress.

　　Past elections have been marred by allegations of vote rigging. Violence after the disputed 2011 elections, which also featured Buhari challenging Jonathan, killed some 800 people.

　　Election officials have touted¹¹ a new biometric voter card system as insurance against fraud, but in some places, the hand-held readers appeared to malfunction¹².

　　Many polling stations opened late because of delays in getting voting materials and problems with the accreditation¹³ process. Polling places from Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, to Potiskum, in the country's far northeast, reported problems with the hand-held scanners.

　　As of Saturday night, the problems seemed to be more sporadic¹⁴ than systematic¹⁵.

　　In the central city of Kaduna, people brought mats to polling stations to lie down and wait as voting continued into the night.

　　"As long as I can wait, even in the night, I'm willing to cast my vote. And I'm sure everybody on the queue is willing to cast his vote, no matter the time," said Abba Galadima, a civil servant.

　　Voters at one station in Lagos told VOA they waited in line for several hours while election workers looked for a machine that would work.

　　Jonathan, who cast his vote in the southern town of Otuoke, needed 30 minutes to go through the process.

　　At a station on the outskirts¹⁶ of the capital, Abuja, a VOA reporter watched officials struggle with the card-reader machines, trying to verify voter fingerprints¹⁷. Some staff had voters use several different fingers, trying them multiple times but still not succeeding. Officials urged voters to wipe their fingers or wash their hands to try to fix the issue.

　　“Any government that is coming in, we want a change," said Yusuf Oriolow, 30. "We just need a change and we are changing Nigeria for better. That is what I see today.”

　　In Kano, a city of 2 million located around 300 miles north of Abuja, a VOA reporter visited multiple polling stations Saturday morning but found only one that had working card readers. About 100 people lined up at the station, waiting to cast their ballots¹⁸, as well as a handful of security personnel and agents from the electoral commission.

　　Scuffles broke out in Rivers state in the southern Niger Delta¹⁹ over missing results sheets amid already high tensions and concerns about vote rigging. Election officials suspended voting in one area, and the state governor refused to vote.

　　A car bomb went off near a polling station in southeastern Enugu state, though no injuries were reported.?

　　The Independent National Electoral Commission announced that because of the technical problems, voting would be extended into Sunday.

　　"Whereas the process has gone on well in several places, in some others it has encountered some challenges, especially with the use of the card readers," the commission said in a statement on its website. "Consequently, accreditation has been slow in many places and has not commenced at all in some others."

　　Despite the delays, however, the vote appeared to be proceeding²⁰ calmly.

　　"You can see the enthusiasm amongst the people. We want to exercise our vote," voter Samuel Eke²¹ told VOA in the southern city of Port Harcourt. "We have all the hope that materials were sent out to the various units. So maybe we'll give them some time."

　　The electoral commission's website went offline earlier Saturday when a hacker²² group calling itself the Nigerian Cyber Army attacked it, posting a message warning officials not to rig the polls.

　　Earlier in the week, both Jonathan and Buhari pledged to respect the outcome of the election as long as it was "free, fair and credible²³."

　　Jonathan, 57, is a Christian²⁴ from the Niger Delta oil region in the south, while Buhari, 72, is a Muslim from the north. Pre-election polls showed the two in a very close race.

　　Preliminary results may be announced Sunday, though a final certified²⁵ tally²⁶ was not expected before Monday at the earliest.

　　Delayed in February

　　The vote was postponed in mid-February because of fighting and insecurity in the northeast where the Boko Haram insurgency has raged since 2009. The government's inability to stop the Islamist extremist group was a major issue during the campaign.

　　Security across Nigeria was tightened²⁷ leading up to the election amid concerns that insurgents could attack polling stations.

　　In recent weeks, a multinational²⁸ offensive drove Boko Haram from most of the towns it controlled in the northeast. On Friday, the Nigerian military said soldiers took back the town of Gwoza and destroyed the headquarters of Boko Haram's self-declared caliphate.

　　U.S. intelligence officials expressed caution about the report, saying that even if the militants²⁹ had retreated, it did not necessarily mean they were near defeat.

　　Intelligence officials told VOA that Boko Haram has used strategic retreats in the past, only to wait, sometimes for weeks or more, for an opportunity to launch a devastating³⁰ counterattack.

　　Stein and Ahmed reported from Kano. Also contributing was Katarina Hoije in Lagos, Ardo Hazzad in Bauchi, Ibrahima Yakubu in Kaduna, Kareem Haruna in Maiduguri and Hilary Uguru in Port Harcourt.

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

4 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

5 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

6 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

7 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

12 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

13 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

14 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

15 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

16 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

17 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

20 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

21 eke   

v.勉强度日，节约使用

参考例句：

• They had to eke out a livinga tiny income.他们不得不靠微薄收入勉强度日。
• We must try to eke out our water supply.我们必须尽量节约用水。

22 hacker   

n.能盗用或偷改电脑中信息的人，电脑黑客

参考例句：

• The computer hacker wrote that he was from Russia.这个计算机黑客自称他来自俄罗斯。
• This site was attacked by a hacker last week.上周这个网站被黑客攻击了。

23 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

24 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

25 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

26 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

27 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

28 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

29 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

30 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。