2006年VOA标准英语-Congo Supreme Court Certifies Kabila Victory

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
27 November 2006

The Supreme¹ Court in the Democratic Republic of Congo has certified² the victory of incumbent³ President Joseph Kabila in October elections. His rival in the second round of voting, former Uganda-backed rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, had mounted a legal challenge to final results, saying there was fraud. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from Dakar.

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Joseph Kabila

The court Monday rejected the eight-point complaint filed by Mr. Bemba, and then certified results giving Mr. Kabila victory with 58 percent of the vote, compared with Mr. Bemba's 42 percent.

The announcement took place at the Foreign Affairs Ministry⁴, after a fire during a protest last week burned down part of the Supreme Court offices.

Officials from Mr. Bemba's camp were not immediately available for comment, and had scheduled meetings to decide what their next step should be, amid heightened security in Kinshasa.

Mr. Kabila is the 35-year-old son of a slain⁵ coup⁶ leader. He took power after his father's assassination⁷ in 2001.

He helped push forward peace deals ending Congo's war, which had involved armies from half a dozen neighboring countries.

Despite the presence of U.N. and European troops, clashes broke out repeatedly during the election process, involving supporters of Mr. Bemba, his private security guard, the presidential guard and government security forces.

A resident in Kinshasa says there are fears violence could break out again, if Mr. Bemba's armed supporters do not respect a recent ultimatum⁸ to leave Kinshasa.

He said, "This is the fear, that, if they resist, maybe Kinshasa will be again in trouble, and we will be again facing gunshots, and there may be people who can be killed again."

 

"This is the fear that we have. We people are living here on a daily basis. We do not need war or conflict here in the capital, " he added.

International observer groups have said there were irregularities during the second round of voting, but committed by both sides, and not enough to affect the overall outcome.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

3 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

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 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

8 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。