2006年VOA标准英语-DRC Election Officials Working Overtime to Prep

By Nico Colombant
Kinshasa
31 July 2006

Election officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo are working around the clock to prepare results from most polling centers in the country's first election in more than 40 years. Voting is continuing in one central mining area, where anti-vote militants¹ disrupted the process Sunday. Final results will not be available until the end of August.

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Kinshasa was calm and many campaign posters had already been torn down.

Poll workers have not slept in days  
  
At polling stations, election officials were still working, putting sheet results of each of their centers into large envelopes, waiting for other officials to pick them up.

This official said he had not slept in more than 48 hours. Many arrived late Saturday, expecting that disruptions would prevent them from easily arriving at their polling center.

Another official said their working conditions were inhuman². He says the international community paid $460 million for this vote, but that election officials got just $35.

He says they have not eaten since they arrived.

Complaints were the same at each polling center. But election officials also said they were proud of the work they were doing.

Man looks at preliminary election results  
  
Results in Kinshasa indicate former Uganda-backed rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba is ahead in the capital, which accounts for about one-eighth of all national votes.

Trailing him in Kinshasa is President Joseph Kabila, who appears to have done well in the former Rwanda controlled city of Goma. There were 30 other candidates, but none seems to have a chance to make it to a second round.

Congolese are hoping to get a clearer idea of results in the coming days through local media, but election officials say only their results, which will be made available at the end of August, will be reliable.

If a second round is needed, election officials say it will take place October 29.

A one-round legislative³ election also took place Sunday.

This election official said it was impossible to give any indication for that vote, with few candidates getting good scores. More than 9,000 candidates vied for 500 seats.

Election heroes working in difficult conditions  
  
On voting day in Kinshasa, there were allegations that members of the presidential guard tried to vote, despite being banned from doing so, and that members of Mr. Kabila's entourage handed out dollars to influence votes. His campaign team denied this took place.

The only major trouble spot appears to have been in and around the central mining town of Mbuji-Mayi where anti-vote militants destroyed several voting centers.

Militants of a major opposition⁴ leader, Etienne Tshisekedi, are boycotting⁵ the process, saying preparations for the vote were inadequate⁶. Election officials reopened about 170 polling areas for voting to resume in an area that is a Tshisekedi stronghold, under heavy police protection.

Officials from the world's largest U.N. peacekeeping mission called the vote a logistical miracle. International observers are expected to give an initial assessment⁷ Tuesday.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

3 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

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 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

6 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？