VOA常速英语2007年-Voters on Kenya's Coast Prepare for Election

By Derek Kilner
Mombasa
26 December 2007

Kenya's heavily-Muslim Coastal¹ province has been intensely courted by the main presidential contenders before elections on Thursday. As Derek Kilner reports from Mombasa, public opinion polls in the province indicate dissatisfaction with the government of President Mwai Kibaki.

With campaigning officially over before presidential and parliamentary elections Thursday, the streets of Mombasa, Kenya's second city and its major port, are free of the megaphones and marches of a few days ago. But campaign posters still cover the walls of every available building, and the vote is on everybody's mind.

Challenger Raila Odinga has a substantial lead over President Mwai Kibaki in Coast Province, according to the most Mr. Odinga's pledge to decentralize government power, an idea that receives strong support on the coast.

Primary school teacher Ithman Mursal says government resources and wealth have been concentrated in the hands of an elite² in Nairobi and President Kibaki's Central Province under the current government.

"We want the national resources to be equally divided to all regions so that we eliminate the idea of a few individuals benefiting from the resources," said Mursal. "Here in Mombasa, everything has been taken to Nairobi. Here we have a port. The headquarters of the Kenya Ports Authority is in Nairobi and yet we have the sea in Mombasa."

Another issue of concern, particularly for Mombasa's large Muslim population, is the government's cooperation in American counter-terrorism policies, including the transfer of suspects to locations including Ethiopia and the American military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Aboud Khalifa, a phone salesman, says he is particularly concerned by the government's policies.

"About the Muslims and the government all through these five years there was a lot of friction³ because they were puppets of the Americans," he said. "We are really tired of this stuff. There was not enough evidence for us to be taken to Guantanamo bay or Ethiopia, but still they did this stuff and we are tired of this."

The United States has been concerned about terrorism on Kenya's coast.

A bomb attack on the American Embassy in Nairobi in 1998 killed 219 people, and in 2002, 13 people were killed in an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel. Many people have been arrested coming across the border with Somalia to the North, including, critics charge, several Kenyan citizens.

Estimates indicate Muslims constitute nearly two million of Kenya's more than 14 million eligible⁴ voters.

But President Kibaki has also attempted to court the Muslim population, and the blue and red of his campaign t-shirts and posters are just as visible as Odinga's orange, at least on the city's main streets.

His backers, as in other parts of the country, emphasize Kibaki's achievements from his first term in office, including a strong record of economic growth and the introduction of free primary education.

Sammy Kamau, a lawyer, is one such supporter.

"I have seen what he has done. His record is good. He has improved the economy of Kenya. We have sign lives changing, even from the villages, we have seen development and we really appreciate it. I am voting because of what he has done, the track record, not mere⁵ talk," said Kamau.

While Mr. Odinga narrowly leads Mr. Kibaki in national opinion polls, many observers say the race is too close to call. Both candidates will be watching closely as Mombasa's voters queue up in the tropical heat on Thursday.

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 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。

3 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。