VOA标准英语2009年-Voters in Guinea-Bissau Prepare for Second

（单词翻译）

Voters in Guinea-Bissau head to the polls Sunday for the second round of a presidential election to replace long-time leader Joao Bernardo Vieira, who was killed by mutinous¹ troops five months ago.

Candidates in Guinea-Bissau wrapped-up their campaigning Friday with closing rallies in the capital. Saturday is a day of reflection before Sunday's vote to restore constitutional leadership following President Vieira's assassination².
　
Malam Bacai Sanha (file photo)

The ruling-party's Malam Bacai Sanha won last month's first round of voting with nearly 40 percent of ballots³ cast. The former interim⁴ president and chair of the national assembly is expected to gain the support of most of those who voted for independent candidate Henrique Rosa in the first round.

Rosa won more than 24 percent of the vote but only the top two vote-getters move on to the second round.

Sanha's ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape⁵ Verde controls more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament but his support within the party is thought to be somewhat soft as he only narrowly edged out current interim president Raimundo Pereira for the party's nomination⁶.

Sanha is running against opposition⁷ leader Kumba Yala who won the 2000 contest between the two men.

Yala may have trouble building on the 29 percent of the vote he won last month because his presidency⁸ is best remembered for the arrest of political opponents and financial mismanagement which resulted in civil servants not being paid for nine months.

Though he is from the country's ethnic⁹ majority which has long controlled the military, Yala was toppled in a 2003 coup¹⁰.

Having elections in one of the world's poorest countries is not the problem. Electoral observers from the European Union say last month's vote was "well organized, peaceful, free and transparent¹¹."

In a country with a history of army mutinies and coups¹², regional diplomats¹³ say the challenge for the new president will be forcing Bissau's military to respect civilian¹⁴ leadership and keep out of politics.