VOA常速英语2007年-Tribal Support Important in Kenya Politics

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
20 December 2007

Ethnic¹ and regional affiliations³ have long been central to Kenya's politics.  As Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, general elections on December 27 are not expected to be different, with Kenyans voting in large part along tribal⁴ lines.

President Mwai Kibaki's support base lies with his Kikuyu tribe, the biggest in the country.  In largely-Kikuyu Central Province, he is expected to receive 90 percent of the vote.

His chief rival, Raila Odinga, belongs to the Luo tribe - Kenya's third largest, whose population is concentrated in Nyanza Province in Kenya's west, where Mr. Odinga is polling more than 80 percent.  His pick for vice⁵ president, Musalia Mudavadi has delivered strong support from the Luyha tribe, Kenya's second-largest.

Mr. Odinga argues that wealth, government positions and other resources have been concentrated among a Kikuyu elite⁶ under Kibaki.  This position has helped Odinga rally support from other ethnic groups that have also felt marginalized. 

He leads in every province with the exception of Central and Eastern, the strongholds of Kibaki and third-place Kalonzo Musyoka, respectively.

President Kibaki's inroads with other tribes, meanwhile, have been limited, beyond the Meru and Embu who have traditionally allied⁷ with the Kikuyu.  The third-place candidate Kalanzo Musyoka is polling at 43 percent in his Eastern province, but hovers⁸ around 10 percent nationally.

University of Nairobi Political Scientist Katumanga Musambayi cautions against simplistic assumptions about tribal affiliation².  He says Kenyans do not necessarily support candidates based on an inherent preference for people of a certain tribe, but rather for more practical reasons.

"The aspect of the tribe is blown out of proportion and I think it is a misunderstanding of the role it does play," he said.  "Ethnicity does not affect elections in terms of groups facing each other, but on the contrary it is about the instrumentalization of ethnicity.  It is not ethnicity for say, one group voting for the other actor because he comes from a certain ethnic group."

But he says voters are looking for the candidate who can deliver resources to their community, and this usually means the candidate who has courted support from tribal leaders.

"It is more about how a rational actor at a national level is able to construct assumptions or perceptions among the community that he has a better deal for them, given the fact that one of their sons or one of their daughters is part of his coalition," he added.  "So what you are beginning to see is that a large number, say in Western province is tilting⁹ towards Raila Odinga.  A large number of people in Central Province are tilting towards Mwai Kibaki."

Distribution of resources is also at the center of the debate over decentralization, arguably the main policy question in the election. 

Mr. Odinga has called for a more federal system of government, which he says would distribute wealth more equitably¹⁰, but President Kibaki and his supporters say those proposals will exacerbate¹¹ ethnic tensions. 

University of Nairobi sociologist¹² Paul Mbatia says Kibaki supporters have focused on Mr. Odinga's use of the word "majimbo," a term for decentralization from the colonial period that has strong ethnic connotations.

"Those who oppose majimbo try to highlight the dangers of trying to divide Kenya along ethnic lines such that eventually we would be putting different ethnic communities in a competition or rivalry¹³ that may be destructive," he explained.

Clashes over land in the Rift¹⁴ Valley and Mt. Elgon regions of Kenya in recent months have highlighted the reality of the danger of ethnic violence in the country.  And Odinga appears to have responded to such concerns, backing away from the term "majimbo," though maintaining support for federalism.

There are indications that the importance of tribal affiliation in voting may be starting to wane¹⁵, particularly among younger generations.  But for now, what Musambayi calls the "tectonic plates" of tribal voting blocks will remain at the center of Kenyan politics.

1 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。

2 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

3 affiliations   

n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳

参考例句：

• She had affiliations of her own in every capital. 她原以为自己在欧洲各国首府都有熟人。 来自辞典例句
• The society has many affiliations throughout the country. 这个社团在全国有很多关系。 来自辞典例句

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 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。

6 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

7 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

8 hovers   

鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovers in the sky. 一只老鹰在天空盘旋。
• A hen hovers her chicks. 一只母鸡在孵小鸡。

9 tilting   

倾斜，倾卸

参考例句：

• For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他，但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
• So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以，让我们结束内部间的争吵吧！再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。

10 equitably   

公平地

参考例句：

• We should equitably assess historical figures. 我们应该公正地评价历史人物。
• Land was more equitably distributed. 土地得到更公平合理的分配。

11 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

12 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

13 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

14 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

15 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。