2006年VOA标准英语-Rival Congolese Camps Build Alliances

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
29 September 2006

Rival camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo's post-war election process are busy building alliances, but fears of more unrest remain.  A second round presidential runoff will take place October 29, along with an election for provincial¹ posts.

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Voters getinstructions in Kinshasa   
  
Month-long campaigning has started for the provincial election, while the presidential campaign will have to wait until mid-October to kick off.

But seats are already being counted for the one-round parliamentary election, which took place along with the first round presidential vote in July.

Parties associated with incumbent² President Joseph Kabila, the son of the slain³ former rebel turned president Laurent Desire Kabila, say they have more than half the 500 seats.

Joseph Kabila leads in East DRC  
  
Armand Kasongo is a member of the coalition⁴ backing the pro-presidential party, known as the AMP. He says more and more parties are joining Mr. Kabila's camp.

"So far AMP is still open," he said.  "So we expect more and more people joining us. So we are quite sure and we expect and we are convinced that before the settlement of the new assembly we should maybe reach more than 350 members."

Kasongo says he hopes this will translate into a landslide⁵ win for Mr. Kabila in the second round.  Mr. Kabila, who won 40 percent of the vote in July, will face former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, who won 20 percent, mainly from western areas.

"We will have the opportunity to rule this country and bring lasting⁶ peace and economic development in this country," he added.

 
Jean-Pierre Bemba waves to a crowd gathered outside his house in Kinshasa
  
But Mr. Bemba, who is a vice⁷ president in the current power sharing government, is also trying to build alliances.

He has secured support from part of the main civilian⁸ opposition⁹ party known as the UDPS, which has strong support in central regions.  That party is officially boycotting¹⁰ the process, saying it is not free and fair.

But some party leaders, like Gaston Dindon, now say they back Mr. Bemba.

"Kabila and his party have done everything to put us out of this process," he said.  "That is why the UDPS cannot support a Kabila candidacy.  Now we are listening to how people, militants¹¹ and all the people in Congo who would like the UDPS position to support one of the two candidates and most of the people want to support Jean-Pierre Bemba."

Looting, rioting, fire fights and dead bodies lying in streets have marred¹² the election process. The head of a European rapid reaction force is warning the situation remains¹³ very unstable¹⁴, despite promises from the two candidates to reduce violence.

The force known as EUFOR is due to leave Congo in December, just days after results are scheduled to be announced, leaving security to the large U.N. peacekeeping force and a newly-trained police. These have often been unable to contain outbreaks of violence.

About half the fighters from Congo's most recent war remain armed.

1 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 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。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 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。

10 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。