2007年VOA标准英语-Low Turnout and Fraud Mar Cameroon Elections

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
22 July 2007

Low turnout and reports of fraud marred¹ municipal and legislative² elections in Cameroon. Analysts⁴ say the strong reforms needed in Cameroon are unlikely to come from these elections, which they predict will continue the 25-year rule of President Paul Biya's party. Naomi Schwarz has more from VOA's regional bureau in Dakar.

Cameroon's President Paul Biya after end of polling for municiple and legislative elections in residential quater Bastos in Yaounde, 22 Jul 2007

Voting began early in Cameroon in a calm and peaceful atmosphere. Perhaps, too calm and peaceful, said some observers, worried about voter turnout.

Bayen Sone is a local journalist who has covered politics in Cameroon for a decade.

"There [have] been very few people voting this morning," said Sone. "I want to believe it has to do with the fact that people went to church, but it is also possible that it is a kind of demonstration⁵ of voter apathy⁶."

He says corruption⁸ and a weak opposition⁹ have left voters disillusioned¹⁰ with the democratic process.

But Sone says some voters are showing up more than once.

"Myself, I have witnessed a group of young men who are voting several times," added Sone. "They were testifying. They did not know that I was listening. They were telling their friends and encouraging their friends to go and try."

He says others have been allowed to vote without showing the required identification. Yet in the weeks leading up to election day, many registered voters did not receive their voting cards. And only 5.5 million of Cameroon's population of 18 million had registered to begin with.

Adamou Ndam Njoya, national president of the Cameroonian Democratic Union, one of the main opposition parties, says at this point, he does not believe a fair outcome is possible.

"It is not very possible because the situation we know in Cameroon is that we have a culture of fraud that is raging," said Njoya.

The ruling party, Cameroon People's Democratic Movement, has said the claims are unfounded.

Roger Belinga, a candidate for the ruling party in a municipality on the outskirts¹¹ of the capital, says the accusations¹² are merely a way for the opposition to justify¹³ their continuing losses.

Cameroon is rich in oil, but its population remains¹⁴ poor. Its government is often listed by Transparency International as among the world's most corrupt⁷ c and cited by other international organizations for violations¹⁵ of human rights.

Central Africa analyst³ Chris Melville, of the British-based consulting company Control Risks, says strong reforms are needed in Cameroon.

"Clearly the ideal situation for the administration is to redouble its efforts to tackle high-level corruption within the administration, which it the major problem," said Melville. "It has made some efforts over the past year and a half to clear out some of the worst excesses, but vested interests have tended to impede¹⁶ the full implementation¹⁸ of the necessary measures."

He also says Cameroon needs to implement¹⁷ constitutional reform, passed in 1996, and to reopen genuine dialog with the opposition. But he says he does not expect to see such reforms soon.

"But these kinds of changes are not going to be swiftly implemented¹⁹, and the forthcoming elections in no way represent a watershed²⁰ after which such reforms would be undertaken," added Melville.

President Paul Biya has been in office since 1982. His party currently holds 149 of 180 seats in the legislature and is expected to increase that majority in these elections.

1 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

2 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。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 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。

5 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

6 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

7 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

8 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。

9 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。

10 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

11 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

16 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

17 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

18 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

19 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

20 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。