VOA常速英语2007年-Commonwealth Observers Arrive Ahead of Kenyan E

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
20 December 2007

An observation mission from the Commonwealth¹ group of nations has arrived in Kenya before presidential and parliamentary elections on December 27. Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, where the head of the team, discussed the observer mission.

Former Sierra Leone president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah said the 13-member group will conduct meetings in the capital before fanning out to provinces before the vote.

"We will meet representatives of political parties, civil society, commonwealth diplomats², and media, as well representatives of other international observer groups in order to consider the broadest range of perspectives and concerns," he said.

Electoral violence has been a growing concern. Party primaries for legislative³ races in November were marked by a series of violent protests, and ethnic⁴ clashes have flared⁵ up in the Rift⁶ Valley and Mt. Elgon regions of the country in recent months.

Mr. Kabbah said he was aware of such incidents, but expressed optimism that the vote would proceed smoothly⁷.

"We have read and heard about this type of violence. But we are reassured⁸ that as we get nearer to the day itself that people will see to it that it is better to organize a free, fair, and friendly election," he said.

The European Commission and the East African Community have also sent observation teams for the elections. The vote is expected to be the closest in Kenya since multi-party politics was introduced in 1992.

Two new opinion polls show President Kibaki trailing Raila Odinga by four and eight percentage points respectively. The most recent poll by the Steadman group, the country's most prominent pollster, puts Odinga's lead at two points. For many observers, the race is too close to call.

Mr. Kibaki has presided over a strong record of economic growth - more than five percent of GDP last year. But Mr. Odinga claims the benefits have been concentrated among Mr. Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, Kenya's largest. Mr. Odinga also says President Kibaki has failed to deliver on a 2002 pledge to combat corruption¹⁰.

Voting is likely to largely follow tribal¹¹ lines. President Kibaki has strong support from the Kikuyu in Central Province. Mr. Odinga's base is the Luo community in the poorer Nyanza Province in western Kenya. He has also rallied support from other groups who have felt left out by the Kibaki government.

Mr. Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement party also holds a roughly eight-point lead over Mr. Kibaki's Party of National Unity⁹ in legislative polls.

1 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

4 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。

5 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

6 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。

7 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

8 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 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。