Presidential candidates in Guinea-Bissau are campaigning hard across the country ahead of Sunday's vote. Eleven candidates are running to succeed long-time President Joao Bernardo Vieira, who was killed in March.
竞选几内亚比绍总统的候选人在星期天投票之前紧锣密鼓在全国各地进行竞选。有11名候选人参加竞选，试图取代今年三月被打死的长期担任总统的昂·贝尔纳多．维埃拉。
Supporters of Guinea-Bissau's ruling-party candidate, Malam Bacai Sanha, rally outside the capital, promising a big turnout in a district his chief rival, opposition candidate Kumba Yala, won nine years ago.
几内亚比绍执政党候选人马拉姆．巴凯．桑哈的支持者在首都外举行集会，并承诺在这个选区有高投票率。他的主要竞争对手、反对党候选人昆巴·亚拉9年前曾在这个选区获胜。
In a country with fewer than two million people, campaigning is often at close quarters. Rival posters hang from the same apartment building and party offices stand across the street from each other, competing to see who can play their campaign songs the loudest.
在一个不到200万人口的国家，竞选活动往往是近距离的。竞争对手的海报悬挂在同一公寓大楼上，政党的办事处互设在街道的对面，争相播放竞选歌曲，看谁的声音最大。
Down the road from the Sanha rally, supporters of independent candidate Henrique Rosa say he is the only one who is looking out for the country's poor. Sanha supporters drive by on the back of an open truck, pointing to their wrists in reference to his slogan "Time for Change."
通往支持桑哈集会的路上，独立候选人恩里克·罗萨的支持者说，他是唯一为该国穷人说话的候选人。一辆卡车的车厢上载着桑哈的支持者，他们指着自己的手腕，意思是桑哈的竞选口号：“是变革的时候了。”
It is a relatively benign bit of electoral taunting that is met with waves from Rosa supporters in a country that has seen a series of violent changes of power since independence in 1974.
这群桑哈支持者相对平和的表达方式受到罗萨支持者浪潮的冲击。这个国家自从1974年独立以来，多次发生暴力的政权更迭。
Who will replace Vieira?
Sunday's vote is a contest to succeed long-time President Joao Bernardo Vieira, who was killed by mutinous soldiers in March hours after his chief political rival died in a bomb blast.
星期天的选举是竞争由谁来取代维埃拉总统。维埃拉3月被哗变的士兵打死。在那之前几个小时，他的主要政治对手死于炸弹爆炸事件。
Earlier this month, presidential candidate Baciro Dabo was killed by state security forces, who accused him of resisting arrest for plotting a coup. Dabo's family say he was shot in his bed.
本月早些时候，总统候选人巴希罗·达博被国家安全部队打死，他被控阴谋发动政变并拒捕。达博的家人说，他在床上被射杀。
Military intervention in politics stems largely from the fight against Portuguese colonialism. Many political analysts in the region say the military considers that liberation struggle more legitimate than the power civilian politicians gain through elections.
军事干预政治的现象起源于反对葡萄牙殖民主义的斗争。该地区的许多政治分析家说，军方认为解放斗争比文人政治家通过选举获取权力更为合法。
Security sector reform tops recommendations by the International Contact Group on Guinea-Bissau - which includes members of the Economic Community of West African States, the United Nations, and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries.
对安全部门改革的建议是几内亚比绍国际联络小组的最关注的议题，这个小组包括西非经济共同体成员国、联合国和葡萄牙语国家共同体。
"There is a link between political actors who are manipulating the military," said Vladimir Monteiro, the United Nations information officer in Bissau. "Some militaries take advantage of their force and try to obtain something in exchange. But what we see is Guinea-Bissau is losing due to this kind of link, this combination between both sides."
弗拉基米尔.蒙泰罗是联合国在比绍的新闻官员。他说：“一些政客有操控军事力量的问题，而一些军队也利用他们的军事力量试图获得什么东西作为交换。不过，我们看到的是几内亚比绍由于这种军政双方的互相勾结而走向失败。”
Military interference?
Monteiro says politicians should stay out of the barracks and the military should be responsible only for protecting Guinea-Bissau's national sovereignty and serving in regional peacekeeping forces.
蒙泰罗说，政治家应该远离军营，而军方则应该只担负起保护几内亚比绍的国家主权和参加地区维和部队等责任。
He says Sunday's vote is a chance to restore constitutional order and begin the process of reconciling historically rival factions.
"We think that it will be a step and a moment to bring all the actors - political actors, military actors, and even civil society to discuss. Because we are talking about reconciliation," Monteiro said. "And this reconciliation process has not started yet. And this election, maybe it will help."
Hope for peaceful future
Monteiro says reforming the security force is as much about establishing accountability for past violence as it is about setting the stage for a more peaceful future.
蒙泰罗说，改革安全部队、对建立信誉从而结束过去的暴力以及搭建一个更加和平的未来的架构同样重要。
"In Guinea-Bissau we have had a lot of killings," Monteiro noted. "And it is not normal in a democratic state when you want to respect rule of law and human rights [that] a group comes and kills the president and nobody is accountable. And this is very important."
“在几内亚比绍，有很多人被杀害。这在一个民主国家中是不正常的，一个民主国家要尊重法治和人权，而有人杀死总统却无人对此负责，这十分严重。”
The regional ECOWAS alliance wants an independent investigation into this year's political violence. Two commissions of inquiry established in Bissau have made little progress. Monteiro says it is up to Guinea-Bissau to take the necessary steps to bring to justice those responsible for the killings.
西非国家经济共同体希望对今年的政治暴力举行独立调查。在几内亚比绍建立的两个调查委员会进展甚微。蒙泰罗说，几内亚比绍应该采取必要的步骤，将杀人者绳之以法 |