VOA常速英语2007年-Kenya Political Campaign Season Under Way

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
19 December 2007

The two leading candidates in Kenya's December 27 presidential elections are everywhere: in full page photos on newspaper covers; staring down from Nairobi billboards¹; speaking on radio advertisements; and campaigning on the popular nightly news. But as Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, President Mwai Kibaki and challenger Raila Odinga were familiar to Kenyan voters well before the campaign season got under way.

Mwai Kibaki is now in his fourth presidential run, Raila Odinga in his second and even before the introduction of multi-party politics in 1992, both had well-established political records.

President Kibaki, 76, has been a member of parliament since before Kenya gained independence in 1963. He held a series of Cabinet positions in the governments of Presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Arap Moi, serving as vice² president from 1978 to 1988.

But with the introduction of multiple parties in 1992, Mr. Kibaki started the opposition³ Democratic Party, finishing third in 1992 presidential elections, and second in 1997, before leading the National Rainbow Coalition⁴ to victory in 2002 over the ruling Kenya Africa National Union Party that had ruled since independence.

In a testament⁵ to Kenya's rapidly-shifting political alliances, Mr. Kibaki's 2002 opponent, Uhuru Kenyatta is now backing the president, as is former president Moi.

Mr. Odinga has served in the Moi and Kibaki governments.

But his political career has been defined by opposition, going back to his father. Oginga Odinga served as Kenya's first vice president, but was jailed for two years after breaking with President Kenyatta, and remained an opposition figure under President Moi.

Raila Odinga began serving in parliament in 1975, but after participating in a 1982 coup⁶ attempt against Moi, he spent the better part of the next decade in prison. Odinga returned to parliament with the introduction of multi-party politics in 1992. After an unsuccessful bid for the presidency⁷ in 1997, he joined President Moi's Cabinet.

In 2002, Mr. Odinga helped launch the National Rainbow Coalition, along with Mr. Kibaki and Kalonzo Musyoka, who is running third in this year's elections. Mr. Odinga was instrumental in President Kibaki's 2002 victory.

But he broke with the president over a proposed constitution that was rejected in a 2005 referendum. Mr. Odinga became the leading force behind the Orange Democratic Movement that opposed the proposed constitution and has effectively been running for the presidency ever since.

Many analysts⁹ see few major differences in the policies the candidates will pursue if elected. But as analyst⁸ Mutahi Ngunyi tells VOA, the candidates differ dramatically in their presentation and rhetoric¹⁰.

"The difference between the two is that Kibaki appeals to our heads, Raila appeals to our hearts. Raila is charismatic. Kibaki is less than charismatic. Kibaki will appeal to the intellectuals by having very good arguments, making good presentations that appeal to us intellectually. That is why he has a lot of support from intellectuals," said Ngunyi.

Mr. Odinga, who made waves in the media earlier this year when he purchased a Hummer, is often decked out in his party's bright orange colors and sometimes sports a cowboy hat. President Kibaki, meanwhile, gazes calmly from large Nairobi billboards, dressed smartly in a suit and tie.

Mr. Kibaki came to power in 2002 as the candidate that ended four decades of rule by KANU, this time around he is the candidate of stability. He highlights Kenya's strong economic growth and urges voters to let him build on achievements from his first term in office, including the introduction of free primary education.

But President Kibaki still sometimes employs the rhetoric of change.

"I have in mind the kind of Kenya we want to build and I am not talking about the history of Kenya that is in the past," he says. "I am thinking of the new Kenya from this election the Kenya we want to build the Kenya we want to have the Kenya we are looking forward to above all the Kenya we would like our children to inherit."

Mr. Kibaki recently pledged that he would appoint a Cabinet free of corruption¹¹ and deliver a new constitution. Odinga supporters counter that these are the same pledges that Kibaki made five years ago and the fact that he is repeating them is evidence that he has failed to deliver.

While Mr. Odinga has been a successful businessman his campaign rhetoric has focused on reducing inequality among groups and regions. Kibaki support is concentrated in Central Province, Kenya's wealthiest. The Odinga base lies in Kenya's poorest province, Nyanza, in Kenya's west.

Mr. Odinga calls for decentralization of government and resources have also earned him the support of other ethnic¹² groups. He is leading in every province, with the exception of Central and Eastern - the strongholds of Kibaki and Musyoka, respectively.

Mr. Kibaki says he supports more limited political devolution, and says Odinga's calls for decentralization risk exacerbating¹³ ethnic tensions.

Kenya's younger generations are also often seen as more favorable to Raila Odinga. Ngunyi says he represents a generation shift in Kenyan politics.

"He is fighting a generational war. He is effecting a generational succession. Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, the republics around us have gone through their generational succession where the independence generation has been kicked out of power. What is happening in Kenya now, Raila is also effecting some kind of generational change," says Ngunyi.

If elected, Mr. Odinga would be the first president that was not a political leader at the time of independence.

1 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 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。

4 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。

5 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

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 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

11 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。

12 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。

13 exacerbating   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This pedagogical understretch is exacerbating social inequalities. 这种教学张力不足加重了社会不平等。 来自互联网
• High fertilizer prices are exacerbating the problem. 高涨的肥料价格更加加剧了问题的恶化。 来自互联网