After years of unrest, the Central African Republic recently observed peaceful elections. Now, two candidates and former prime ministers, Anicet Dologuele and Faustin Touadera, head to a runoff at the end of the month.
The National Electoral Commission said nearly 80 percent of voters turned out for the elections last month. That included some living outside the country, like residents of a refugee camp near Garoua Boulai in Cameroon.
"Everybody is excited because we need change in our country," said Abdoul Karim Carvalho, a refugee voter.
"Because there is disorder in my country, we are here to find a unique president who'll be able to reconcile our country and bring peace. That's all we want," said Sidick Aboubakar, another refugee voter.
While thousands of Central African refugees at the camp were able to cast their ballots in the presidential election, others in other parts of the world couldn't.
Reason for hope
But regardless of who becomes the next leader after a runoff ballot later this month, Central Africans around the world said they were excited and couldn't wait for their country to emerge from its crisis.
Gabino Guerengomba lives in the United States; he is chief executive officer of Integrated Solar Technologies and a leader of the Central African community in Washington. He didn't get to vote but said the high turnout sent a message to the world.
"They really want to get past this really sad episode of our history and move on to greener pastures," he said.
Sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims in the past several years has caused nearly 1 million people to flee their homes.
Guerengomba said the election "was an opportunity for us to realize that we Central Africans are the only people that could be responsible for what our country would become."
'The best plan'
When asked to name his favorite candidate, he smiled and said he wasn't supporting anyone in particular.
"Right now, it's not even about preference, nor affiliation," he said. "It's about who has the best plan, who can reconcile the Central African people, who can bring about a societal framework."
The winner of the runoff will replace the transitional government of Catherine Samba-Panza that came to power in 2014 after a rebel leader stepped aside less than a year after overthrowing President Francois Bozize.
Dologuele won 23.78 percent of the vote in the first round of voting on December 30. Touadera trailed at 19.42 percent, according to unofficial results.
Dologuele, 58, a former central banker, came to be known as "Mr. Clean" after his attempts to clean up murky public finances during his spell as prime minister from 1998 to 2001.
Touadera, also 58, is a former math professor who served as prime minister under Bozize. He was considered an outsider among the 30 candidates running for the top job.
In a statement released Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry commended the vote and said there were "clear signs that Central Africans seek a new beginning for their country, and a future based on democratic governance and free from the violence and instability that have plagued the country for far too long."
Vocabulary
Diaspora:离散的犹太人
murky:黑暗的
plague:折磨;使得灾祸
GRE阅读长难句攻破技巧
GRE阅读经典句型总结(1)
新GRE阅读 难句分类及其难句高分修炼秘籍
新GRE阅读:难句突破宝典
如何快速攻破GRE阅读
GRE阅读经典句型总结(11)
GRE阅读经典句型总结(6)
GRE阅读经典句型总结(9)
GRE阅读:长难句中译英练习题
新GRE阅读:长难句的典型结构分析
GRE阅读经典句型总结(4)
新GRE阅读高分秘诀 排除法
解析GRE阅读的套路规则
攻破GRE阅读长难句心法
新GRE阅读:从情境模拟到技能考核
盘点GRE阅读的12大出题点
新GRE阅读:不可不知的2种逻辑思维
怎样复习GRE阅读才能取得高分
新GRE阅读长难句解析
GRE阅读:客观题的备考策略
解析GRE阅读之分词作状语结构
战胜GRE考试,心理战术是关键
GRE阅读定位技巧的详解
备考GRE逻辑阅读:定语从句结构
GRE逻辑阅读7大语法结构:分割结构
GRE阅读经典句型总结(5)
如何应对GRE逻辑阅读的陌生词汇
备考GRE阅读需要打“持久战”
解析GRE逻辑阅读:倒装句结构
掌握新GRE阅读中的两大特性
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |