VOA标准英语2013--Kenyans Wait Anxiously for Vote Count

 

Kenyans Wait Anxiously for Vote Count

Kenyan officials, in a painstaking¹ and slow process, are reading out the tally², piecemeal³, from the country’s presidential election held on Monday.

A problem with a mobile phone-based communications system has forced officials to add up the vote on paper, leaving Kenyans waiting for the results for days.

Here in Kisumu, in western Kenya, patience is beginning to run out.

John Ochieng, a teacher, is fed up with the delays. “They’ve really disappointed Kenyans so much, at times we find that transmitting the results is very slow, now we are returning where we came from, which is the manual," he said.

The presidential race pits Prime Minister Raila Odinga against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya's first president. He's been accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court for his alleged⁴ involvement in violence after the last elections. 

The two candidates were virtually tied in polls released before the election and both have predicted victory in the first round.

Issack Hassan chairs Kenya's electoral commission. He has urged all parties to be patient.

"The commission wishes to assure the parties, the candidates, in particular the presidential candidates and their agents, especially the chief agents and their supporters, that the commission will provide regular and timely announcement of results as and when they are received from the other remaining constituencies," he said. 

Political parties have raised concerns about the delays and other irregularities in the election process. Much of the controversy⁵ centers around how to resolve hundreds of thousands of rejected ballots⁶.

Independent analyst⁷ Abdullahi Boru says this damages confidence in the vote.

“I mean the slow process in which the results are trickling⁸ in has two implications. One, it will make people start feeling anxious and that builds up tension. And the second thing is, well, why is the system not as efficient as we were promised and then people will start questioning the integrity or the legitimacy⁹ of the process," he said. 

The electoral commission says it expects to announce official results as soon as Friday morning.

But officials are reminding voters that legally they have until Monday. 

1 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

2 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

3 piecemeal   

adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块

参考例句：

• A lack of narrative drive leaves the reader with piecemeal vignettes.叙述缺乏吸引力，读者读到的只是一些支离破碎的片段。
• Let's settle the matter at one stroke,not piecemeal.把这事一气儿解决了吧，别零敲碎打了。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 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》

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 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。