VOA标准英语2009年-Watchdog Says Graft Could Cause More Election V

A new public-opinion survey by a Kenyan anti-corruption² organization warnrd the country could face another round of violence at its next elections, if the government does not increase its efforts to fight graft³.

According to the survey by the Kenyan branch of the global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, most respondents believe the country's next elections, currently set for 2012, will again be marred⁴ by violence if corruption concerns are not addressed.

Program Officer Mwangi Kibathi presented the findings in Nairboi.

"We had a massive 64 percent who think it is a real possibility, they have genuine fear, and it is only 36 percent who think that whether corruption is tackled or not, there will be no post-election violence," he said.
　
Kenya's former anti-corruption chief John Githongo calls for amnesty for those who confess to economic crimes, Nairobi,(Aug 2008 file photo)

Two-thirds of respondents said they feared that violence would be worse than in 2008, when a disputed election result set of political and ethnic⁵ clashes that killed more than 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.

Transparency International Kenya Director Job Ogonda said corruption decreases the public's confidence in the justice system, leading people to turn to armed militias⁶ for protection and to pursue justice.

More than three-quarters of respondents thought the government lacked the political will to fight corruption. It has faced a raft of corruption scandals in recent months, including in the agriculture and energy ministries⁷. An effort in parliament to force the agriculture minister to step down was soundly rebuffed.

According to the survey, fewer than one third of the respondents said they would re-elect their member of parliament if elections were held today. Roughly half of the respondents said they were in favor of holding new elections.

But Ogonda said the problem of corruption extends beyond the legislature.

"Most of the institutions of governance have been captured by corrupt¹, narrow vested interests. Therefore when you lay blame, it has to be across the board. It begins with the executive, it extends into parliament, it extends into our oversight⁸ institutions, such as the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission, and it extends to the justice delivery system that includes the police and our judiciary," he said.

The telephone survey of 1,000 people focused on Kenya's five major cities, and the organization cautioned that it should not be taken as representative of public opinion throughout the country. But the results are in line with another recent survey, by the polling group Steadman, which also found high levels of dissatisfaction with the government, including 70 percent of respondents saying that Kenya's coalition⁹ government had not achieved anything since it began its term a year ago.

Kenya ranks 147th out of 190 countries on Transparency International's latest global ranking.

1 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。

2 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。

3 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

4 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。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

8 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。