Kenya's Parliament has unanimously approved a bill to amend the constitution to allow for a power-sharing agreement between the country's two main parties. Both sides have expressed strong support for the deal, but the bigger test will be to see how well the parties cooperate in a coalition government.
肯尼亚议会一致通过一项议案,修改宪法,附加承认两个主要政党签署的权力分享协议。双方表示坚决支持这项协定,但是,更大的考验是,两党在联合政府如何更好的合作。
The power-sharing agreement signed late last month by President Mwai Kibaki and his challenger in December's disputed elections, Raila Odinga, calls for the creation of the position of prime minister - which would go to Odinga. The Cabinet would be split evenly between the two sides.
齐贝吉总统和他在去年12月有争议的选举中的挑战者奥廷加上月底签署的权力分享协议呼吁设立一个总理职位,这个职位将由奥廷加担任。内阁职位将由两党平分。
Kenya's constitution needs to be amended to accommodate such changes. After finalizing the amendment, the parliament will take up another bill to put in place the power-sharing arrangement.
需要修改肯尼亚宪法以适应这样的变化。在最后确定这个修正案之后,议会将审议另一个法案,实施权力分享安排。
Both leaders had strongly urged support for the necessary amendment and debate in parliament was marked by conciliation and optimism. Odinga called for Kenyans to unite behind the agreement.
双方领导人强烈敦促支持对宪法进行这种必要的修改,议会举行的辩论显现出和解与乐观的气氛。奥廷加呼吁肯尼亚人团结一致支持新协议。
"Let us not look at each other, Mr. Speaker, as PNU, ODM-K, ODM and so on," he said. "Let us now fuse together now as one people who want to do something for the people of Kenya. Let us strengthen the foundation of multiparty democracy in our country."
奥廷加说:“议长先生,我们不要把对方看成是民族团结党、肯尼亚橙色民主运动或者橙色民主运动等等。现在让我们融汇在一起,团结起来,就像希望为肯尼亚人民作一些事情的同一个人,让我们一起巩固我国多党民主制的基础。”
President Kibaki made an unusual appearance before parliament, expressing hope that the political and ethnic violence that killed over 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands following the election, can be left behind.
齐贝吉总统不同寻常地出现在议会。他表示,希望这些政治暴力和民族间的暴力能够被抛在脑后。选举后发生的这些暴力事件夺去一千多人的生命,数10万人流离失所。
"We were developing apart earlier on. And now we are going together," said President Kibaki. "That we are going together is a joy, for the reason that we shall succeed. Where we were headed a little while ago it was terrible. And I am quite sure myself that we have found an answer."
齐贝吉说:“早些时候,我们走向分裂,但是现在我们正走到一起。走到一起是一件让人高兴的事情。因为我们将获得成功。不久前我们到了一个危险阶段,太可怕了。现在我自己十分肯定,我们找到了答案。”
While politicians have united behind the power-sharing agreement, there remains some uncertainty over how the coalition will function in practice. A statement by the head of the country's civil service last week, which seemed to imply a lesser role for the prime minister and less sharing of government jobs than the opposition had expected, prompted criticism from Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement.
虽然政界人士一致支持权力分享协议,但是就联合政府如何在实践中运行,仍然存在一些不确定因素。上个星期,国家行政事务部负责人发表的声明似乎暗示,总理发挥的作用较小,反对党分享政府职位的数量比原先预期的要少,声明引起奥廷加的橙色民主运动的批评。
The coalition government will also oversee a year-long overhaul of Kenya's constitution, which critics charge now grants the president too many powers.
联合政府还将监督对宪法进行的为期一年的修改,批评人士指控现有的宪法给予总统过多的权力。
In parliament, there was widespread support for the need to change the document. But discussion on the details of reforms - including curtailing the president's powers, decentralizing the government, and changing laws of land ownership - is likely to prove far more contentious.
在议会,议员广泛支持对宪法进行必要的修改,但是,就具体的修改进行的讨论很可能会引发更多的争议,具体修改包括:减少总统权力、政府权力下放、修改土地所有权法等。 |