VOA标准英语2009年-Court Finishes Vote Recount in Gabon

By Scott Stearns
Dakar
04 October 2009

Gabon's constitutional court has finished its recount of presidential ballots². The court says it expects to rule on the validity of the vote in the coming week.

Constitutional court president Marie Madeleine Mborantsuo says the court has completed recounting every return from the more than 2,800 polling stations.

She says the court will rule on the validity of that poll in the coming week after inviting³ opposition⁴ candidates to present evidence of the claims of massive vote fraud by electoral officials to benefit ruling party candidate Ali Ben Bongo.

 
A boy uses a pitchfork to clear debris⁵ in front of a burnt shop, in a market area looted during recent postelection violence, in Port Gentil, Gabon (File)
Gabon's interior ministry⁶ says Bongo won with nearly 42 percent of the vote. Former interior minister Andre Mba Obame and long-time opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou each received about 25 percent of the vote.

Obame and Mamboundou joined seven other opposition candidates in filing suit to challenging the Bongo win. But they did not take part in the recount because the court refused to allow each of them to send a political representative as well as a bailiff to observe the process.

If the court finds the results should be annulled⁷, Mborantsuo says the election will be held again. If the court confirms Bongo's victory, he will be inaugurated.

Interior Minister Jean Francois Ndoungou told the court about the conduct of the vote.

Ndoungou told reporters outside the court that concerning the electoral list and the comportment of electoral officials during the process, he sees no call for further action by the court to challenge the outcome.

Most electoral observers believe the vote was fair despite irregularities that included security forces at polling stations, some ballot¹ boxes not being properly sealed, and the absence of opposition representatives during some vote counting.

The election was held to replace long-time president Omar Bongo, who died in June after 42 years in power. When his son was announced as the winner of the vote, opposition demonstrators in Port Gentil burned the French consulate⁸ and attacked offices of French and U.S. oil companies.

Security forces say three people were killed in that unrest. Human-rights groups say the death toll⁹ was at least 15. Interim¹⁰ President Rose Francine Rogombe says an investigation¹¹ is underway to determine who was responsible for the violence. 

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 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》

3 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

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 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 annulled   

v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去

参考例句：

• Their marriage was annulled after just six months. 他们的婚姻仅过半年就宣告取消。
• Many laws made by the former regime have been annulled. 前政权制定的许多法律被宣布无效。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

9 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

10 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

11 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。