2006年VOA标准英语-DRC Analysts Fear Election Outcome

By Nico Colombant
Kinshasa
27 October 2006

The large United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has presented Sunday's run-off presidential election as a major historical breakthrough. But analysts² still fear the outcome of the election.

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The UN has tried to help keep the peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo 
  
An analyst¹ with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, Jason Stearns, says the crucial DRC election could become a winner-takes-all affair, an election that does not leave any role for the minority party in the parliament.

"The danger is that the election will turn into a winner-takes-all affair where the winner of the presidential elections not only wins the presidential election," said Mr. Stearns.  "As events in parliament - there is a newly-elected parliament - have shown is that the majority in parliament does not want to give any guarantees to the minority in parliament.  So in most parliaments, you have guarantees in the minority that they have positions in key commissions, auditing³ bodies and so on, until now in parliament it seems like the majority wants to dominate everything, leaving the political opposition⁴ without any rights, without a leg really to stand on."

 
Bemba's guard stand next to a downed helicopter
  
Both candidates, President Joseph Kabila and Vice⁵ President and former rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba, still rely on large private security guards that are not integrated into the army.

After first round results were announced in August, supporters of the two candidates clashed, leaving dozens dead in Kinshasa.  A small European rapid reaction force helped the large but overextended U.N. peacekeeping mission stop the fighting.

A Congolese analyst, Mbwebwe Kabamba, fears that with the stakes much higher now, second round results could lead to renewed civil strife⁶.

"We have many elements now showing pretty well that we are about to have a civil war," he said.  "We have two belligerents⁷, we have President Kabila and his own army, we have Jean-Pierre Bemba, who also has his own army.  We somehow thought that those people would merge⁸ their armies, for an integrated army, but unfortunately at the end of the transition period, we realize that they still have their militiamen, so being in touch with one group and the other, no one is ready to accept their failure at the end of this process."

Kabamba is not encouraged by the fact that voting in the first round was split along geographic⁹ lines, and that in the run-up to the second round, campaigners from the west had problems coming to the east, and vice-versa.

"Some conflictual [militant] aspects we saw in the DRC we saw during the campaign, what I consider myself to be the tip of the iceberg¹⁰, because there are many, many problems between the west and the east, and it is likely to break up in a war," he added.

Mr. Kabila has refused to sign an agreement guaranteeing security for the loser of the election.

Jean-Pierre Bemba   
  
His opponent, Vice President Bemba, was asked what he would do if his forces were attacked.

"I will defend myself, I will defend my family," said Mr. Bemba.  "With what, with angels? When you are attacked with guns and ammunition¹¹, how do you respond?"

Neither candidate has taken to the campaign trail, citing security concerns.  Vice President Bemba has said that if he loses in a transparent¹² election, he will go into peaceful opposition.

But Mr. Kabila has not said anything.  The son of the country's former leader, Laurent Desire Kabila, who was assassinated¹³ in 2001, has kept busy building alliances with major political parties. There are also reports his presidential guard has been receiving new shipments of weapons.

1 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。

2 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。

3 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。

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 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 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

7 belligerents   

n.交战的一方（指国家、集团或个人）( belligerent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At long last an armistice was declared by the belligerents. 交战双方终于宣布停战。 来自辞典例句
• Yet it remains unclear whether the actual belligerents will accept it. 但真正的交战双方是否会接受还是个未知数。 来自互联网

8 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

9 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

11 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

12 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

13 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句