Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says he has not ruled out negotiations with the opposition MDC but elections must go ahead on Friday to meet a legal obligation. Meanwhile, reports are coming in from several parts of Zimbabwe that violence is continuing against opposition supporters.
津巴布韦总统穆加贝说，他没有排除同反对党争取民主变革运动进行协商的可能性，但是为了履行司法责任，选举必须于星期五如期举行。另一方面，来自津巴布韦一些地方的报导说，针对反对党支持者的暴力仍在继续。
President Mugabe, 84, made it clear at a rally Tuesday that he won't refuse to negotiate with the opposition party, The Movement for Democratic Change, but he determined to hold the poll on Friday because, in his words, there is "only one thing for us to accomplish... it's the legal process on the 27th of June."
84岁的穆加贝总统星期二在一次集会上明确表示，他不会拒绝同反对党“争取民主变革运动”进行协商，但是他决心要在星期五举行投票，因为，他说，“我们要完成的只有一件事，那就是于6月27日举行的法律程序”。
The MDC on Tuesday handed a letter to the electoral commission formally withdrawing from the presidential runoff. Tsvangirai said the election was rigged and his supporters face too much violence for him to keep running. He won the first round of voting on March 29, but lacked an outright majority against Mr. Mugabe.
“争取民主变革运动”星期二致函选举委员会，正式退出总统决选。茨万吉拉伊说，选举中充斥着舞弊，他的支持者面临太多暴力，使他无法继续竞选。茨万吉拉伊赢得了3月29日的第一轮投票的胜利，但是没有赢得战胜穆加贝的绝对多数选票。
Observers are worried that the violence will continue to spiral out of control. One ominous sign is the withdrawal of independent monitors who would be able to observe and protect voters at the polls.
观察人士担心暴力会持续发展以致失去控制。一个不祥之兆是独立监察人员已经撤退。这些人本来是应该在投票站观察并保护选民的。
As of Tuesday, 38 organizations say they have withdrawn after the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, or ZESN, said only 500 observers were able to get accreditation. There were more than 9,000 observers allowed to monitor the election on March 29.
到星期二为止，有38个机构表示他们已经撤退，因为津巴布韦选举支持网路说，只有500名观察员被认可符合资格。在3月29日的选举中，有9千多个机构获准对选举进行监督。
ZESN said it received a letter from Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Friday saying that it would only be allowed 500 observers. As of Tuesday, the invitation for these 500 had not yet been received and ZESN said it could not fulfill its mandate to effectively observe the election.
津巴布韦选举支持网路说，他们收到司法部长奇纳马萨的一封信。信中说，仅有500名观察员获准进行观察。但是到星期二为止，这500名观察员还没有收到发给他们的邀请。津巴布韦选举支持网络说，他们无法有效地完成观察选举的使命。
Because the ZANU-PF said it is determined to hold a one-candidate election on Friday, many fear that ZANU-PF supporters will force people to vote by gunpoint.
津巴布韦非洲民族联盟-爱国阵线说，他们决定于星期五举行只有一位候选人的选举。很多人担心爱国阵线的支持者会用枪逼迫人民去投票。
The U.N. Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe said ample evidence shows Mugabe's government is waging a "widespread campaign of retaliation and threat" and spreading "fear, hostility and attacks" against its opponents.
联合国主管政治事务的副秘书长贝霖说，有足够的证据显示，穆加贝政府正在开展一场“大规模的报复和威胁行动”，并对反对他们的人散布“恐惧、敌对和攻击”。
Mugabe's government is no longer capable of holding a legitimate election, Pascoe told the council, and Mugabe's plan to push ahead with the runoff "would only increase divisions and produce discredited results."
贝霖说，穆加贝政府已经没有能力举行一次合法的选举，而穆加贝推动决选的计划只能加剧分裂，导致不可信的结果。
Already, tens of thousands of Zimbabweans have been uprooted from their homes and 85 people have died in election violence, human rights groups say. Tsvangirai has repeatedly been detained by police and contended with warnings of a state-sponsored assassination plot. His top deputy was arrested on treason charges that carry the death penalty.
人权组织说，目前已经有数万名津巴布韦人被迫流离失所，85人丧身于选举的暴力。茨万吉拉伊已多次被警方拘留，并多次受到津巴布韦政府指使的暗杀警告。茨万吉拉伊的主要副手遭到当局逮捕，并被控犯有可判死刑的叛国罪。 |