VOA常速英语2008年-Commission Formed to Probe Kenya Election Probl

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
14 March 2008

Kenya's president has announced the formation of a commission to investigate the country's disputed December elections. But as Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, there are doubts about how effective such an investigation¹ will be.

President Mwai Kibaki's office released a statement saying the commission will be headed by Johann Kriegler, a South African judge who headed that country's electoral commission during its first post-apartheid elections in 1994.

The investigative commission is set to pay particular attention to the conduct of the presidential election. Mr. Kibaki's main opponent in the presidential race, Raila Odinga, claims the vote was rigged, and international observers have said the results were not credible².

The country's main parties had earlier agreed on the need for an inquiry³ into the elections, during negotiations⁴ mediated⁵ by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The commission is expected to hold public hearings to question officials who organized the election. There has been mounting pressure from civil society groups in recent days for the chairman of Kenya's electoral commission, Samuel Kivuitu, to resign, and for the body to be restructured.

Civil society leaders have welcomed the inquiry, while warning of the failures of similar commissions in the past. Charity Ngilu is a top member of Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, echoed that concern.

"Bearing in mind that commissions have been appointed before, by Kibaki in particular, and bearing in mind that they have always come out with their recommendations after their work is done and that no action, no implementation⁶ of the recommendation is done," said Ngilu. "This may just be another of those commissions."

Local media have reported that the structure of the inquiry will be similar to the Goldenberg Commission that investigated a corruption⁷ scandal from 2003 to 2005. That commission's recommendations were largely ignored.

Political analyst⁸ Mutahi Ngunyi says that the commission could be counterproductive, increasing tensions between the partners in the country's fragile power-sharing arrangement.

"This commission is completely unnecessary because if the conclusions of the inquiry are that Raila won the election we will not be in a good place," said Ngunyi. "If it concludes that Kibaki won the election, the results will also not be good for the country. Since now there is a power-sharing deal, we don't want to change the situation."

Other members of the six-person commission include representatives of Kibaki's Party of National Unity⁹, and opposition¹⁰ leader Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, as well as a judge from Tanzania and an international elections expert from Argentina.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

3 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

6 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

7 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。

8 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。

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 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。