VOA标准英语2009年-Rival Claims of Electoral Victory in Gabon

Gabon's interim¹ leader is calling for calm as three leading candidates from Sunday's presidential vote are all claiming victory.
　
Rose Francine Rogombe (File)

Interim President Rose Francine Rogombe says there will be only one winner in Gabon's presidential election. As voters wait for official results, she is calling on everyone to show maturity².

Rogombe says Gabon is a country of peace, and people should refuse to be manipulated by losing candidates into demonstrating against the winner. She says violence is not the Gabonese way unless they are provoked.

Rogombe says any candidates who calls for violence in the street is neither responsible nor a democrat³. In a democracy, she says, people have to accept both winning and losing.

Three candidates from Sunday's vote are already declaring victory.

Former defense⁴ minister Ali Ben Bongo led a crowded field to replace his father, Omar Bongo, who died in June after 42 years in power. The late president's son had both the best-financed campaign and the electoral infrastructure⁵ of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party.

Faustin Boukoubi, the party's secretary general, says the ruling party is absolutely certain of victory, but in respect for the law, it is waiting for official results. About 40 percent of Gabon's voters are in the capital Libreville where Boukoubi says the race is tight. But outside Libreville, Boukoubi says Bongo won a large proportion of the vote.

Long-time challenger Pierre Mamboundou finished second to Omar Bongo in 1998 and 2005. This time he says he has come out on top and expects to be Gabon's next president.

Mamboundou says there is no way that Ali Ben Bongo can win because he shares responsibility for all the 42 years of his father's rule. Mamboundou says he can not see how Gabonese who remember all those years could vote for the late president's son.

On the eve of the election, several candidates withdrew their ballot⁶ papers and announced their support for former interior minister Andre Mba Obame, who broke away from the ruling party when it chose the late president's son as its nominee⁷.

According to results gathered by his campaign, Obame says he has about 55 percent of the vote nationwide and is waiting for the electoral commission to announce him as the official winner.

Obame's television station was taken off the air Sunday by the National Communications Council because the station said it would carry live coverage⁸ of election returns.

Local and foreign journalists in Gabon are prohibited from speculating about results or voting trends, and may only report returns announced by the interior ministry⁹ on state-run media.

The country's land and sea borders remain closed until Thursday.

1 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。

2 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 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。

6 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。

7 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 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。