2007年VOA标准英语-African Elections Well Established but Facing M

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
26 July 2007

A total of 19 African countries are holding multi-party elections this year, a far cry from a few years ago when many countries in Africa were dominated by single-party governments or military dictators. But quite a few elections on the continent continue to be marred¹ by irregularities and administrative² problems. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from our Southern Africa Bureau in Johannesburg.

Officials check voter cards in Mali's presidential election  29 April 2007 (VOA photo: R. Valenzuela)

Every few weeks, it seems, voters in one of Africa's 53 nations are going to the polls to elect their leaders. In many cases the elections are praised as well organized and fair.

David Pottie, with the Carter Center, a U.S.-based organization that observes elections all over the world, says regular multi-party elections have become a well-established trend in Africa.

"It is somewhat less clear if the direction of that trend is actually resulting in an alternation of parties in power," he said.

The secretary-general of the Senegalese RADDHO human rights group, Alioune Tine, agrees adding that after nearly two decades of elections on the continent there is a certain voter fatigue³.

"There is the problem of confidence," he explained.  "Many opposition⁴ parties have no confidence with the system, the regulating system, the electoral system."

Many voters say they have doubts about the independence of the bodies organizing the vote. In some countries, government ministries⁵ oversee⁶ the process, in others, electoral commissions with varying degrees of independence are placed in charge.

Denis Kadima, of the Electoral Institute for Southern Africa, says some election commissions are very independent-minded but face conditions that prevent them from operating freely.

"They may have a judiciary, which is not very independent," he noted⁷.  "You may have the army, which may be interfering⁸. They [election commissions] depend on the government for funding. The party in power may also take advantage of that."

He says it is important that commissions be appointed and begin their work early, not merely a few months before the vote. And he says commission members should be replaced gradually, not all at once, so that experience is passed along to newer members.

Paul Graham of South Africa's Institute for Democracy says there are other problems.

"One is the weakness of political parties, and therefore, the sense that they don't really aggregate⁹ [represent] voters' interests," he said.  "And they don't have a social presence between elections even if they have seats in legislature."

He says voters also face difficulties in fulfilling their role, whether in registering to vote or accessing information about the parties and their candidates.

Kadima notes that many well-run elections often end up in disputes over their results, which lead to lengthy¹⁰ legal challenges, suspicious deal-making and sometimes violence.

"Given the limited opportunities outside the state, parties or candidates tend not to accept defeat, because they know that if they are defeated they won't have access to resources," he said.  "As a result, they may refuse to accept the result of a genuine, free and fair election."

Graham says this is because in Africa so much economic power lies with the government.

"Incumbency¹¹ is in all jurisdictions¹² a great privilege, but in poorer countries where the state is often seen as an area of resource, incumbency is a particular privilege," he added.  "So once you are in, it's hard for people to give up power."

He adds that it is difficult for opposition politicians to establish their credentials¹³ because highly centralized political systems prevent them from demonstrating their leadership abilities in, for example, local politics.

And a major obstacle everywhere is a lack of resources. Experts say neither political parties nor election commissions have sufficient funds to do their jobs. Moreover, in many countries, geography, climate and poor infrastructure¹⁴ pose additional financial and logistical challenges.

Graham says these factors make African elections very expensive.

"We haven't figured how to hold cheap elections, or let's call them cost-effective elections, and develop cost effective conflict-management mechanisms," he explained.

Kadima concludes that ultimately the long-term success of multi-party elections depends on progress on broader societal issues.

"For elections to be successful, we also need over time to start addressing issues of development, because as long as we don't have opportunities outside government everyone will try to get in power by any means, including rejecting the results of a fair election," he said.

Experts note that the African Union in January adopted a Charter for Democracy, which sets out principles aimed at strengthening elections and their independence.

Each AU member is to adapt the principles to its laws and regulations. Experts say this is one more way to raise the electoral standards on the continent.

1 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。

2 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

3 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

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 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

6 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

9 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

10 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

11 incumbency   

n.职责，义务

参考例句：

• Every incumbency employee has his year-end bonus.所有的在职员工都可以领到年终奖金。
• Administrator ethic includes administrative incumbency and administrative conscience.行政人员伦理包括行政义务和行政良知。

12 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

13 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。