VOA慢速英语--天主教会拒绝接受刚果民主共和国的总统选举结果

Catholic Church Rejects DRC's Presidential Vote

The Catholic Church rejected the official result of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s presidential election on Thursday. And the losing candidate called the result a “robbery.”

Election officials announced that opposition¹ candidate Felix Tshisekedi won the election. He is set to replace President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 18 years.

But pre-election studies had predicted an easy win for Martin Fayulu, another opposition candidate.

The influential² Catholic Church had 40,000 observers at voting stations across the country. It said its own findings did not support the official results. Three diplomats³ briefed on the Church’s mission said their findings clearly showed Fayulu had won.

The Church said in a statement, “The results from the presidential election as published by CENI [Independent National Electoral Commission] do not correspond to the data collected by our observation mission from polling stations and vote counts.”

Fayulu claimed that election officials helped Tshisekedi to win as part of a deal to protect members of the outgoing Kabila administration. He called the official result a “robbery” and asked supporters to “rise as one man to protect victory.”

Fayulu has led anti-government demonstrations⁴. He has also spoken out against corruption⁵ in the Congo, a country rich with minerals.

It was not clear whether Fayulu would dispute the election results in court. He has two days after the announcement of official results to file official disputes. The constitutional court then has seven days to consider disputes before results are final.

Tshisekedi’s supporters celebrated⁶ his victory. But Thursday’s action by the Church could make it harder for him to win wider acceptance.

An official from the United Nations’ peacekeeping operations said Tshisekedi’s win might lead to some temporary calm. But the official told the Reuters news agency that former militia⁷ and political supporters of Fayulu might rebel.

Police said three people were killed in the eastern city of Kikwit, where Fayulu received strong support. But much of the country appears to be staying calm.

Many Congolese fear that a dispute could restart violence. Civil wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have killed millions of people since the 1990s.

“Opposite of what we expected”

The international community has not congratulated Tshisekedi on his victory. Many appeared to be watching for the reactions of Fayulu’s supporters.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the results “are the opposite to what we expected.”

Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said he was “very concerned” about reported differences in Congo’s results. He added that the United Nations Security Council would discuss the issue on Friday.

European Union spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said, "We are also waiting for the reactions of different observation missions that have observed the elections…and partners, particularly in Africa.”

Over the past week, the United States and other governments have called on the electoral commission to publish correct election results. The U.S. has also deployed⁸ troops in nearby Gabon and has urged American citizens to leave Congo because of security concerns.

I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

brief - v. to give information

correspond - v. to be similar or equal to something

polling - n. voting station

outgoing - adj. leaving a particular position

particularly - adv. something that deserves special mention

1 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。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。