VOA标准英语2009年-Gabon Awaits Presidential Results

Three presidential candidates in Gabon all say they expect to be named the winner when counting Sunday's vote is completed. Final results are expected Wednesday.

Electoral Commission President Rene Aboghe Ella says he will meet with candidates early Wednesday to validate¹ the returns.

Ella says members of the ruling party and opposition² parties as well as other government officials responsible for technical aspects of the vote and representatives of independent candidates are going to examine the results validated³ by each of nearly 3,000 polling stations.

Three of the candidates say they already know the results: they won.
　
Pierre Mamboundou, President of Gabon People's Union speaks to the media at his party headquarters in Libreville, 31 Aug 2009

Former Defense⁴ Minister Ali Ben Bongo, long-time opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou, and former Interior Minister Andre Mba Obame are all declaring victory.

Bongo had the best financed campaign and the backing of the ruling party to succeed his father, Omar Bongo, who died in June after 42 years in power.

Mamboundou says there is no way the late-president's son could be elected because he shares responsibility for what Mamboundou calls the previous government's misrule.

Obame says he won about 55 percent of the vote and is waiting for the electoral commission to announce him as the official winner.

Interim⁵ leader Rose Francine Rogombe is urging everyone to stay calm.
　
Rose Francine Rogombe (File)

She says it is important for people to maintain peace in the country and not be manipulated by losing candidates who might call them into the streets to protest.

Security forces have stepped up patrols in the capital before the expected announcement of a winner.

Initial reports from more than 300 electoral observers say the vote appeared to be mostly free and fair with some polling stations staying open late because they did not open on time.

The biggest question surrounding the conduct of this vote appears to be the improbable number of voters registered.

"If 40 percent of the population is below 15, and the voting age is 21 - we are not even talking of the percentages who are 15 and up to 20 - in a population of 1.5 million, it is impossible to get 800,000 registered voters no matter how you look at it," said Almami Cyllah, the regional director for Africa at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

With nearly two-dozen candidates campaigning for the presidency⁶, this has clearly been Gabon's biggest step forward toward broad, multiparty democracy. But Cyllah says the freedom to run does not ensure a fair vote.

"If you see the number of candidates, you will say, 'Yes. At least some people have now the right to run for office.' But what does that mean if the commission or those charged with conducting the elections are not conducting the elections in a fair manner to represent the will of the people," said Cyllah. "I think those are the questions we need to ask as we go along."

Former interior minister Obame's television station was taken off the air Sunday by the National Communications Council because the station said it would carry live coverage⁷ 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 ministry⁸ on state-run media.

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

1 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

2 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。

3 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句

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 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。