选务拖延可能影响刚果金总统选举日
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.
刚果民主共和国的总统竞选活动从本星期开始，但是反对党和国际选举观察员担心，刚果下个月的投票可能被推迟。
Incumbent President Joseph Kabila's biggest challenger in this vote is longtime opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi.
现任总统卡比拉在这次选举中的最大劲敌是长期反对派领导人艾蒂安.齐塞凯迪。
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.
不同于上次总统选举的是，刚果的宪法不再要求候选人必须赢得50%以上的选票才能当选。在没有第二轮选举的情况下，候选人只要赢得最多的选票就能当选。
With official campaigning set to begin Friday, President Kabila says Congo is ready.
正式的竞选活动定于星期五展开。总统卡比拉说，刚果已经准备就绪。
"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."
卡比拉说：“如果选举委员会告诉我们说他们已经准备就绪，那么我们也必须准备就绪。我肯定，到现在为止，选举委员会已经准备好了，我们将进行选举。”
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.
反对党认为，选举委员会还没有为投票作好准备，因为投票材料的准备和分发进度落后，并且没有诚实处理选民登记。
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.
齐塞凯迪的民主与社会进步联盟秘书长雅克曼.沙巴尼说，民主与社会进步联盟已经书面通知选举委员会有关过程中的各种违规，包括选民登记时的身份问题。沙巴尼说，这次投票的可信和透明至关重要，因此选举程序必须调整。
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.
总统卡比拉的反对者说，在每一个地方投票站公布选民名册之前，他们不会知道选民名册的问题有多严重。但是6万2千多个投票站地点至今尚未宣布，这更加放慢了选举进程。
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.
设在美国的卡特中心选举观察员认为，选举进度受到严重威胁，因此现在必须提出来解决。卡特中心在金沙萨的观察小组负责人巴亚卡拉说：
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.
如果选举委员会能在印刷和运送选票的工作跟上进度，以及如果投票箱准时送到和迅速雇用和训练选务人员，那么选举日就能维持在11月28号。但是卡拉说，这个挑战需要巨大的努力，包括尽快公布选民名册。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.
选举委员会说，选票正在南非印刷，在中国制造的选票箱也在按时运送之中。
Information Minister Lambert Mende says Congolese security forces are taking “practical measures” to ensure that all campaigns have equal protection and freedoms.
信息部长曼德指出，刚果安全部队正在采取[实际的做法]，以确保所有竞选活动都能得到公平的保护和自由。
“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.”
曼德说：“刚果的每一名男女能自由捍卫自己的想法。每一个组织能自由的处理他们的构想。每个人都能自由选出自己中意的候选人，并且同时受到国家的保护。”
But the International Foundation for Electoral Systems director in Kinshasa, Gregory Kehailia, says security is already a problem.
但是选举制度国际基金会在金沙萨的主任格雷戈里.凯哈利亚指出，已经出现了安全问题。
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.
凯哈利亚说， 安全问题部分出在选举委员会和反对派各党之间就选举时间表以及公布选民名册方面缺乏对话。这些延误看来促使卡比拉总统的反对者更加激进。
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.
凯哈利亚认为，如果反对党认为选举过程不透明，那么公布选民名册之时，就可能成为暴力的引发点。
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.
凯哈利亚说，如果投票要推迟，就不应该在投票日的前夕才推迟，因为这会被反对派看作是故意操纵选举过程。凯哈利亚认为，要是不能保证选举透明和安全，那么领先的反对派候选人和总统就会各自宣称胜选，这个举动就将挑起紧张和暴力。
