選務拖延可能影響剛果金總統選舉日

Presidential campaigning begins this week in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But opposition parties and international election observers have expressed concern next month's poll may be postponed. VOA West Africa Correspondent Scott Stearns has more.

剛果民主共和國的總統競選活動從本星期開始，但是反對黨和國際選舉觀察員擔心，剛果下個月的投票可能被推遲。

Incumbent President Joseph Kabila's biggest challenger in this vote is longtime opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi.

現任總統卡比拉在這次選舉中的最大勁敵是長期反對派領導人艾蒂安.齊塞凱迪。

Unlike in the last presidential election, Congo's constitution no longer requires a candidate to win more than 50 percent of the vote. Without a second round, whoever gets the most votes wins.

不同於上次總統選舉的是，剛果的憲法不再要求候選人必須贏得50%以上的選票才能當選。在沒有第二輪選舉的情況下，候選人只要贏得最多的選票就能當選。

With official campaigning set to begin Friday, President Kabila says Congo is ready.

正式的競選活動定於星期五展開。總統卡比拉說，剛果已經準備就緒。

"If the electoral commission tell us they are ready, then we also have to be ready. I am sure that up to now they are ready and we will go for elections."

卡比拉說：“如果選舉委員會告訴我們說他們已經準備就緒，那麼我們也必須準備就緒。我肯定，到現在爲止，選舉委員會已經準備好了，我們將進行選舉。”

Opposition parties say the electoral commission is not ready for the poll because the preparation and distribution of voting materials is behind schedule and voter registration was not honestly conducted. Jacquemin Shabani is the secretary general of Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress party.

反對黨認爲，選舉委員會還沒有爲投票作好準備，因爲投票材料的準備和分發進度落後，並且沒有誠實處理選民登記。

Shabani says the party has notified the electoral commission in writing about what it says are various irregularities in the process, including questions of identification during voter registration. Shabani says it is important that this vote be credible and transparent, so the process must be adjusted.

齊塞凱迪的民主與社會進步聯盟祕書長雅克曼.沙巴尼說，民主與社會進步聯盟已經書面通知選舉委員會有關過程中的各種違規，包括選民登記時的身份問題。沙巴尼說，這次投票的可信和透明至關重要，因此選舉程序必須調整。

President Kabila's opponents say they will not know the extent of problems with voter lists until they are published at each local polling station. But the locations of more than 62,000 polling stations have not yet been announced, slowing the process further.

總統卡比拉的反對者說，在每一個地方投票站公佈選民名冊之前，他們不會知道選民名冊的問題有多嚴重。但是6萬2千多個投票站地點至今尚未宣佈，這更加放慢了選舉進程。

Election observers from the U.S.-based Carter Center say there are serious threats to the election schedule that must be addressed now. Baya Kara heads the Carter Center observation team in Kinshasa.

設在美國的卡特中心選舉觀察員認爲，選舉進度受到嚴重威脅，因此現在必須提出來解決。卡特中心在金沙薩的觀察小組負責人巴亞卡拉說：

Kara says that if the electoral commission stays on course with the printing and delivery of ballot papers, and if ballot boxes are delivered on time and poll workers are hired and trained promptly, the election date of November 28 can be maintained. But Kara says this is a challenge that needs a huge effort, including the publication of voter rolls as fast as possible.

如果選舉委員會能在印刷和運送選票的工作跟上進度，以及如果投票箱準時送到和迅速僱用和訓練選務人員，那麼選舉日就能維持在11月28號。但是卡拉說，這個挑戰需要巨大的努力，包括儘快公佈選民名冊。The electoral commission says the printing of ballot papers in South Africa is underway and the delivery of ballot boxes made in China is on schedule.

選舉委員會說，選票正在南非印刷，在中國製造的選票箱也在按時運送之中。

Information Minister Lambert Mende says Congolese security forces are taking “practical measures” to ensure that all campaigns have equal protection and freedoms.

信息部長曼德指出，剛果安全部隊正在採取[實際的做法]，以確保所有競選活動都能得到公平的保護和自由。

“Every man, every woman in Congo is free to defend his ideas. Every organization is free to dispatch its ideas. Everybody is free to elect who he likes to elect while protected by the state.”

曼德說：“剛果的每一名男女能自由捍衛自己的想法。每一個組織能自由的處理他們的構想。每個人都能自由選出自己中意的候選人，並且同時受到國家的保護。”

But the International Foundation for Electoral Systems director in Kinshasa, Gregory Kehailia, says security is already a problem.

但是選舉制度國際基金會在金沙薩的主任格雷戈裏.凱哈利亞指出，已經出現了安全問題。

Kehailia says part of the security problem is a lack of dialogue between the electoral commission and opposition parties concerning the electoral timetable and the publication of voter lists - delays that Kehailia says appear to be making President Kabila's opponents more radical.

凱哈利亞說， 安全問題部分出在選舉委員會和反對派各黨之間就選舉時間表以及公佈選民名冊方面缺乏對話。這些延誤看來促使卡比拉總統的反對者更加激進。

When the voter lists are published, Kehailia says that could be a flashpoint for violence if opposition parties are not convinced the process was transparent.

凱哈利亞認爲，如果反對黨認爲選舉過程不透明，那麼公佈選民名冊之時，就可能成爲暴力的引發點。

If the poll is delayed, Kehailia says it should not be delayed on the eve of the vote because that would be seen by the opposition as an intentional manipulation of the process. If transparency and security are not guaranteed, Kehailia says the leading opposition candidate and the president will each claim victory, a move he says will provoke tension and violence.

凱哈利亞說，如果投票要推遲，就不應該在投票日的前夕才推遲，因爲這會被反對派看作是故意操縱選舉過程。凱哈利亞認爲，要是不能保證選舉透明和安全，那麼領先的反對派候選人和總統就會各自宣稱勝選，這個舉動就將挑起緊張和暴力。