2007年VOA标准英语-Presidential Vote Count Begins in Sierra Leone(在线收听) | ||||||
By Phillip Wellman Dakar 10 September 2007
Final results are expected to be announced in a few days, but early unofficial counts by Sierra Leone's Independent Radio Network say opposition candidate Ernest Koroma of the All People's Congress is taking an early lead. But Sierra Leone People's Party candidate Solomon Berewa is also claiming to be in the lead, according to his tallies.
Despite party claims of intimidation and harassment on the day of voting, international monitors say the process was fair, credible and a step forward for a war-ravaged country. President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah says he will step down after serving the maximum two terms allowed. The Africa director for the National Democratic Institute, a U.S. monitor, Chris Fomunyoh, says the change of power will be good. "That transition is usually a healthy process in every democratic society because then it is a renewal of leadership and it provides an opportunity for those who get the mandate of the people to deliver on campaign promises," Fomunyoh. Many voters in one of the world's poorest nations said they were voting for change. Fomunyoh says the new president should bear this in mind as soon as he is sworn-in.
The nation is ranked as one of the most corrupt in the world and basic services such as electricity are nonexistent in most areas. The runoff follows a first-round last month when seven candidates ran and Koroma received 44-percent of the vote and Berewa had 38-percent, forcing a runoff. Second-round campaigning saw a series of street clashes, with police and President Kabbah urging the two competing candidates to rein in their supporters. | ||||||
原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/voastandard/2007/9/43204.html |