VOA标准英语2011--Possible Political Showdown Inches Closer in Kinshasa

Possible Political Showdown Inches Closer in Kinshasa

A possible political showdown is inching closer in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the second place candidate in the fraud-marred November presidential election says he is the rightful president.

There is a heavy security deployment¹ across Congo’s capital Kinshasa, as Etienne Tshisekedi says he will swear himself in as president on Friday.

Mr. Tshisekedi has even called on his supporters to capture the controversially re-elected President Joseph Kabila. "Concerning people who have created all these problems, starting with Mr. Kabila, I call on all of you to look for this man wherever he is in the country and bring him to me, here, alive," he said.

Mr. Kabila was sworn in earlier this week at the presidential compound in Kinshasa. During his speech, he did not have kind words for his political adversary². “On November 28, you were asked to choose between illusion based on inflammatory language and on the other hand, a perspective for consolidating³ peace and security, and reconstructing the country," he said.

Human rights groups fear there could be violence and a harsh military crackdown if opposition⁴ supporters bring more protests into the streets. U.S-based Human Rights Watch says Congolese security forces have already killed 24 people this month in post-election violence.

Parliamentary elections were also held in November, but this week, vote counting was suspended, until, officials say, foreign election experts arrive to help.

U.S. observers described vote counting in the presidential election as chaotic⁵, and said the vote was so full of flaws, from instances of ballot⁶ stuffing to rampant⁷ voter intimidation⁸, it could not be considered credible⁹.

Analysts¹⁰ say parties supporting Mr. Tshisekedi could still gain control of parliament and make him prime minister in a tension appeasing¹¹ power-sharing arrangement.

In the meantime, sometimes violent protests have erupted outside the DRC, including Brussels.

In Washington, there have also been protests and more are being planned. Outside the White House, Congolese immigrant Blaise Kazadi demanded credible election results. “(Mr.) Kabila, he cheated in the election so he should not be president. We have one elected president. That is Etienne Tshisekedi. We are here to support the Congolese people who elected Etienne Tshisekedi and who did not elect Joseph Kabila," he said.

When Congo’s top court rejected an opposition bid to annul¹² the presidential vote, the opposition reacted by saying it was totally rejecting that ruling, setting up what many Congolese fear could turn into an increasingly violent showdown.

1 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

2 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

3 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

4 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。

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 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。

7 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

8 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 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。

11 appeasing   

安抚，抚慰( appease的现在分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）

参考例句：

• Mr. Chamberlain had cherished the hope of appeasing and reforming him and leading him to grace. 张伯伦先生则满心想安抚他，感化他，教他温文知礼。
• A pleasing preacher is too often an appeasing preacher. 一昧讨好的传道人通常是姑息妥协的传道人。

12 annul   

v.宣告…无效，取消，废止

参考例句：

• They have the power to alter or annul inappropriate decisions of their own standing committees.他们有权改变或者撤销本级人民代表大会常务委员会不适当的决定。
• The courts later found grounds to annul the results,after the king urged them to sort out the "mess".在国王敦促法庭收拾烂摊子后，法庭随后宣布废除选举结果。