VOA常速英语2007年-Kenyan Election Highlights Political Freedom

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
19 December 2007

On December 27, Kenyans will vote in their second presidential election since Daniel Arap Moi left office five years ago.  Although the election is expected to be hotly contested, one thing that voters seem to agree on is that the pervasive¹ fear of the Moi era is long gone.  Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi.

In the city's Uhuru Park, Nairobi denizens² listen to handheld radios, lounge in the grass and take each other's pictures beside a giant sculpture of Mount Kenya.

Atop the sculpture is a giant hand clutching a torch.  The hand is supposed to be that of former President Daniel Arap Moi, who grew into a quintessential African "big man" during his 24-year rule.  He is alleged³ to have crushed dissent⁴ and jailed and tortured his opponents just 100 meters from here, in the basement of a rust-orange skyscraper⁵.

Back then, Uhuru Park was a place where women were raped⁶ and kidnapped, and anyone walking through was harassed⁷ and threatened by street children.  Across Kenya, people who spoke⁸ out against the Moi government risked jail, torture, and even death.

But, these days, in advance of the December 27 elections, the relaxed scene at Uhuru Park is a reminder⁹ of just how much Kenya has changed in the five years since Mr. Moi left office.

Sitting in the park with friends, teacher Elizabeth Nderitu has no qualms¹⁰ discussing her political views.  She says these relatively¹¹ new freedoms are one reason why she will support President Mwai Kibaki, Mr. Moi's successor, for a second five-year term.

"It used to be very difficult and people even ended up being killed," she said.  "And, what I like about Kibaki, nobody can pinpoint¹² and say Kibaki has made this person to be killed, like the way you used to hear.  Okay, we do not know if it is true, but we used to hear this person has been killed because he said this, he commented this, he questioned the government.  But in Kibaki government we have not had such cases."

It is a stunning¹³ turnaround that Kenya has gone from dictatorship to stable democracy within just five years.  There is now a vibrant¹⁴ media and a political opposition¹⁵ unafraid to question Mr. Kibaki.

Given the tension surrounding the election, the strength of Kenya's political system will be tested.  Recent polls show President Kibaki is slightly trailing his chief opponent, Raila Odinga.

A recent report from the Coalition¹⁶ for Accountable Political Financing asserted Mr. Kibaki, Mr. Odinga, and another candidate, Kalonzo Musyoka, funded nearly two-thirds of their campaigns through corrupt¹⁷ means, including extortion.

All sides have accused opponents of planning to rig the vote.  Some people fear violence will result among supporters of losing candidates.

Mr. Kibaki has failed to stamp out the pervasive corruption¹⁸ of Mr. Moi's era as he had promised.  Some opponents accuse him of perpetuating¹⁹ it by handing out favors to members of his Kikuyu tribe.

To some observers, evidence that flaws still dog Kenya's political system is the fact that one of Mr. Kibaki's most ardent²⁰ supporters in this election is Mr. Moi. 

Mr. Moi, 83, appears to be  in vigorous health and has campaigned tirelessly for President Kibaki, in stops around the nation.  He has been appointed Mr. Kibaki's special envoy²¹ for the peace process between North and South Sudan.

"I am convinced that President Mwai Kibaki ought to be given a chance to complete the constitutionally accepted two-term tenure," he said.

Yet the clearest example that Mr. Moi has left the picture, and of the changes initiated²² by Mr. Kibaki, appears to be the general consensus²³ that the election rigging the Moi administration was accused of using to assure it stayed in power for so many years would no longer work.

Mwalimu Mati is an anti-corruption campaigner.

"We still have a problem of corruption in the electoral process, but the test will be the results," he explained.  "It is not clear whether it is as effective as it once was, because there was a time when you used to buy elections outright²⁴.  But now it seems to be a bit more difficult.  Kenya is democratizing so it is harder and harder to guarantee the cooperation of all the people you would need to rig elections the way Moi, for example, was able to pull it off."

Back at Uhuru Park, the monument with Mr. Moi's hand atop it vigorously sprays water into a surrounding pool.  Tourists happily snap pictures.  But few people seem to know this monument is anything more than a slightly strange sculpture in a pretty park.  Whatever Kenya's problems and whatever the outcome of the vote, the time of the Moi era seems long past.

1 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

2 denizens   

n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• polar bears, denizens of the frozen north 北极熊，在冰天雪地的北方生活的动物
• At length these denizens of the swamps disappeared in their turn. 到了后来，连这些沼泽国的居民们也不见了。 来自辞典例句

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

5 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

6 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

7 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

10 qualms   

n.不安；内疚

参考例句：

• He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。
• He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

13 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

14 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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。

19 perpetuating   

perpetuate的现在进行式

参考例句：

• Revenge leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of violence. 怨怨相报会导致永不休止的暴力。
• It'set out to eradicate heresy, and ended by perpetuating it. 它的目的只是要根除异端邪说，结果却巩固了异端邪说。 来自英汉文学

20 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

21 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

22 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

23 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

24 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。