VOA标准英语2009-Equatorial Guinea Prepares to go to polls

President Teodoro Obiang is expected to easily win Equatorial Guinea's presidential vote Sunday; 291,000 people are registered to vote

Kate Thomas | Dakar 27 November 2009

General view of Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (2008 file photo)

"Equatorial Guinea has no free press, no independent judiciary or independent society and arbitary detentions¹, torture and corruption³ are rife," said a researcher.

Voters in Equatorial Guinea are preparing to go to the polls in Sunday's presidential election.

President Teodoro Obiang is expected to easily win the presidential vote in Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.  291,000 people are registered to vote in the oil-rich central African nation.

In the last presidential election in 2002, Mr. Obiang won with 97.1 percent of the vote, beating four other candidates.

At a rally in the island capital Malabo, President Obiang said he expects more than 97 percent of the vote this time around.

Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa's leading oil-producing countries, with an annual oil revenue of $3 billion.  Officially, it has a per capita income of about $50,000, but  most of the population live in dire⁴ poverty.

Arvind Ganesan is a researcher for Human Rights Watch on Equatorial Guinea:

"Today the U.S. imports up to 100,000 barrels of oil a day from the country. But the state department, the IMF and others have repeatedly noted⁵ that the government of Equatorial Guinea doesn't spend enough money on its own people," he said.

Rights groups say living conditions have worsened in recent years. 20 percent of children do not reach their 5th birthday.

According to the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, Equatorial Guinea is the 12th most corrupt² country in the world.

The group accuses President Obiang of using public money on fancy cars and luxury homes while most Equatorial Guineans struggle to buy food to feed their families.

A graduate of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit, 64-year-old President Obiang owns houses in Maryland and Los Angeles, where his next-door neighbors include Britney Spears and Mel Gibson.

Though he is believed to be suffering from prostate cancer, he shows no signs of releasing his grip on the country he took from his uncle in a 1979 coup⁶.

Again, Arvind Ganesan:

"Under his rule, Equatorial Guinea has no free press, no independent judiciary or independent society and arbitary detentions, torture and corruption are rife," he said.

In 2004, the government and international security forces blocked an attempted coup by a former British special forces officer, Simon Mann. Mann was pardoned by Obiang and released from a jail in Malabo earlier this month, after serving five years of a 34-year jail term.

Four candidates are standing⁷ against President Obiang in Sunday's vote.

Among them is Placido Minko Abogo of the Convergence for Social Democracy Party. He has accused President Obiang of taking $22 million from state funds to finance his re-election campaign.

Campaigning for Sunday's election is due to finish today.

1 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

2 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。

3 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。

4 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。