VOA常速英语2007年-Early Results of Kenya's Parliamentary Vote Cou

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
28 December 2007

Kenya's vice¹ president and a number of cabinet ministers have lost their parliamentary seats according to first results from Kenyan elections on Thursday. As Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, presidential challenger Raila Odinga is leading incumbent² Mwai Kibaki, but with the slow pace of vote counting, a clear winner may not emerge before Saturday.

Among the early casualties in Kenya's parliamentary races are Vice President Moody³ Awori; Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju; Information Minister Mutahi Kagwe and Minister for Local Government Musikari Kombo. According to early results reported by Kenyan television news, at least 10 of Kibaki's 32 cabinet ministers have lost their seats, and further losses appear likely.

Many of the incumbents⁴ lost to challengers from Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement. While presidential polls leading up to the vote have indicated an extremely tight contest, Odinga's party, known as ODM, was widely expected to come first in the legislative⁵ elections.

In early unofficial results broadcast on Kenyan television from over one third of Kenya's constituencies, give Raila Odinga a large lead over incumbent Mwai Kibaki in the presidential race.

But official results from the electoral commission are trickling⁶ in much more slowly, with commissioners⁷ saying a winner may not be announced until Saturday.

Electoral Commission Vice Chair Kihara Muttu apologized for the delay in counting during a news conference in Nairobi.

"The receipt of information from the field seems to be taking a bit of time," said Muttu. "It is only when the returning officer has tallied⁸ all the results fro the whole constituency that he will send it to us. Still we feel we are not sending them fast enough."

Observers say voting was for the most part peaceful, but there were reports of scattered⁹ unrest. Two people were killed in separate incidents on Thursday, and counting has been suspended in at least two constituencies amid concerns over irregularities.

If President Kibaki loses, it would be the first time an incumbent has been defeated at the polls in Kenya, and one of the few such cases in Africa.

Mr. Kibaki has presided over a strong level of economic growth - more than five percent in the past year - and his introduction of free primary education has been popular.

But Mr. Odinga claims that wealth has been concentrated in the hands of Mr. Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe - Kenya's largest, and that the president has failed to deliver on a pledge to combat corruption¹⁰.

Mr. Odinga has strong support from his Luo tribe - based in Western Kenya - and has the backing of a number of leaders of other groups that claim to have been marginalized by the current government.

Regionally, early results have so far followed expected patterns with Odinga leading in all of Kenya's eight provinces with the exception of Central and Eastern provinces - the home turf of Kibaki and third-place Kalonzo Musyoka, respectively.

Mr. Odinga has called for a more decentralized system of government. But many analysts¹¹ see few other major policy differences between the two candidates.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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。

3 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

4 incumbents   

教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 )； 教会中的任职者

参考例句：

• In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected. 通常现任官员有94%的几率会再次当选。
• This arangement yields a wonderful gain to incumbents. 这种安排为在职人员提供了意外的得益。

5 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

6 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句

9 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

10 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。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。