2006年VOA标准英语-Second-Round Vote Counting Begins in DRC

By Nico Colombant
Kinshasa
29 October 2006

Vote-counting has started in the Democratic Republic of Congo, following a second-round presidential election to end a transition period, and years of war and misrule. The national election commission says it is investigating serious incidents of violence that took place during voting in the northwest province of Equateur.

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Vote counting begins in DRC, Oct. 29, 2006  
  
The commission said the election, pitting transitional President Joseph Kabila against former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba passed normally throughout the vast mineral-rich Congo. It congratulated voters for going to the polls, despite heavy rains in much of the country's west.

An election for new provincial¹ assemblies also took place, even though some of the ballot² papers for that election were sent to the wrong places.

The commission pointed³ out two serious incidents of violence, one near the town of Bumba, where election officials were accused of stuffing ballots⁴ in favor of Mr. Kabila. The commission also mentioned an incident in Bikoro, where it said unidentified gunmen attacked two polling stations.

Officials said there was also an attack on a pro-Kabila radio station in the same province.

Media reports quoted police and officials as saying at least one person was killed in violence.

Meanwhile in Kinshasa, officials delegated by the two presidential candidates signed an agreement guaranteeing security for the election loser. They also called for their supporters to remain calm and to use only legal means in case of a dispute.

Following a sometimes chaotic⁵ and confused release of first round results, clashes between rival armed groups left dozens dead last August in the streets of Kinshasa .

A spokesman for Congo's U.N. peacekeeping mission, Jean Tobie Okala, says efforts are being made to avoid a repeat scenario⁶.

"The electoral commission organized workshops after the first polls, just to learn lessons from the first round, what happened, what was not good or wrong, why did that happen," he said. "And, they say that having learned lessons from the first round, they will do better than during the first round."

he Africa director for a U.S. based pro-democracy group called IFES, Chris Hennemeyer, says the problems may be deeper rooted.

"There was a fair bit of trouble when the results were announced in August, but, of course, that trouble was largely limited to a few square blocks of downtown Kinshasa, and the rest of the country was relatively⁷ unaffected," he said. "The question mark in all this is these individual militias⁸ that the candidates have, and that is a problem that has yet to be fully⁹ resolved. I think, in the longer term, stability of the Congo is going to depend upon successfully integrating these armed men into a national army, and giving it some kind of national focus, as opposed to its current regional, political and ethnic¹⁰ affiliation¹¹."

Observers say voter turnout appeared light, Oct. 29, 2006  
  
Observers, journalists and diplomats¹² said turnout in certain parts of the country appeared much lower compared to the first round.

In the eastern region of Ituri, human rights observers reported that soldiers set up roadblocks on access roads to polling centers, asking money for passage, and thus further reducing turnout.

Final results are not expected until mid- to late November, but security will be heightened in the coming days, as candidates should be able to figure out through party delegates who the winner is.

Mr. Kabila nearly won outright¹³ in the first round, and built alliances going into the second round, making him the favorite. He has been president since 2001 after his father, a former coup¹⁴ leader, was assassinated¹⁵.

1 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

2 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 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》

5 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

12 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》

13 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

14 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

15 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句