2007年VOA标准英语-Kenya's Main Opposition Party Splits in Two

By Arjun Kohli
Nairobi
15 August 2007

In Kenya, a split has occurred in the main opposition¹ party that will nominate a candidate to oppose President Mwai Kibaki in December's presidential elections. As Arjun Kohli reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the spilt comes four months ahead of elections.

Kenya's leading opposition figure in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Raila Odinga (May 2007)

Tuesday's split in Kenya's main opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement, which included six presidential aspirants², has created a new dynamic. On Tuesday, ODM leaders Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, parted ways. Musyoka's departure from the Orange movement has opened the door to a new candidate in the Kenyan presidential elections, set to take place in December.

Bitter struggles to gain control of the ODM are blamed for the split.

Najib Balala, another presidential hopeful from the party, accuses Musyoka of betraying the party and says he will have to form an entirely³ new party to support a run for the presidency⁴.

"One individual has betrayed the ideology⁵ that we stand for and left," he said. "If you come to the clarity of who are the reformers and who are the non-reformers and then you would know that the group of reformers are many and only one individual has withdrawn⁶."

"I want to guarantee you that we will never allow him to run under any banner of Orange or even ODM Kenya. We are going to lock ODM Kenya in the Court and the only ODM that will be running will be our ODM," he added. 

 

Some analysts⁸ believe that a rift⁹ will strengthen President Kibaki's chances of winning the December election.

But Kenyan lawyer and political analyst⁷, Ojwang Agina, says voters will cast their ballots¹⁰ according to regional affiliations¹¹, not on ideological¹² grounds or for parties.

He says that Kalonzo Musyoka will seek voters in many of the same regions where President Kibaki draws his strength. Far from increasing Mr. Kibaki's chances of remaining in power, Agina says the current president could now have a real competitor in his own constituencies.

"The Kalonzo canditature is hoping to capture the vote around the same area that President Kibaki expects to get votes from," he said. "That is basically Central Province. So the canditature of Kalonzo is likely to split the central Province and Eastern Province vote which President Kibaki is also eying and by so doing, lessen¹³ President Kibaki's chances of success."

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki (Jun 2007)

President Kibaki took over from President Daniel Arap Moi in 2002. The former president's party, KANU, has deep roots in the Kenyan countryside.

Along with the opposition ODM and the ruling NARC party, Agina says KANU will also play a role in the upcoming elections. He says the party has not nominated a presidential candidate and will likely split into sections supporting different candidates.

"Former President Moi is working to have the KANU that remains¹⁴ under his control to vote for President Kibaki in the next elections," Agina said. "That means that KANU as a party will be split in many different ways. Some parts of it may go to Kalonzo. Some parts of it will go to Kibaki, the one which Moi will be controlling. So that KANU element is also a major factor in the forthcoming elections."

Agina says a faction¹⁵ of KANU is likely to support a third candidate, Raila Odinga, from the opposition Orange Democratic Movement.

The election campaign is expected to begin in early October, several months ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections.

1 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。

2 aspirants   

n.有志向或渴望获得…的人( aspirant的名词复数 )v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的第三人称单数 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人

参考例句：

• aspirants to the title of world champion 有志夺取世界冠军的人
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out. 考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

6 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 affiliations   

n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳

参考例句：

• She had affiliations of her own in every capital. 她原以为自己在欧洲各国首府都有熟人。 来自辞典例句
• The society has many affiliations throughout the country. 这个社团在全国有很多关系。 来自辞典例句

12 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

13 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

14 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。

15 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。