Zambia Opposition Leader Sata's Lead Narrows as Vote Count Continues
赞总统选举反对党以微弱优势领先

　
In Zambia, opposition leader Michel Sata is maintaining a slim lead over rival, Acting President Rupiah Banda, as vote tabulation continues from Thursday's presidential election. With more than three-fourths of the vote counted, Sata has 40 percent of the vote while Mr. Banda has 38 percent.

赞比亚反对党领袖萨塔以微弱的优势领先于对手代总统班达，与此同时，周四举行的总统选举的选票清点工作继续进行。在目前已经清点完毕的四分之三以上的选票中，萨塔获得40%的选票，而班达只有38%的选票。

Veteran opposition leader Michael Sata sprang into an early lead as the first election returns came in from his strongholds in urban areas and Zambia's mining zones.

富有经验的反对党领袖萨塔在点票开始阶段就处于领先地位，当时的选票主要来自都市地区和赞比亚的采矿区，那些地方是他的票仓。

However, acting president Rupiah Banda gradually gained ground as results began to come in from rural areas where his support is greatest.

不过，代总统班达逐渐缩小了差距，与此同时，开始清点来自农村地区选票，班达在那里有大量的支持者。

The elections were called following the death in August of the late President Levy Mwanawasa from a stroke.

这次选举是8月下旬总统姆瓦纳瓦萨中风去世之后举行的。

An analyst with South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, Judy Smith-Hohn, says as a result the campaign was short though heated.

南非安全问题研究所的分析员霍恩说，这场选战因此是短暂而激烈的。

"It's been a very highly contested election," she said. "They have had a very short time to actually prepare for it. So it's hard to tell what the tendencies, how it would have been if they had had a few months' chance to actually get the battle going."

霍恩说：“这是一个竞争非常激烈的选举。他们实际上只有很短的时间进行准备，因此，很难判断会有什么样的发展趋势，如果实际上只有几个月时间进行竞选，情况的确也只能如此了。”

Mr. Banda campaigned pledging to continue Mr. Mwanawasa's pro-business and corruption fighting policies. These are credited for taming inflation and bringing five percent annual economic growth.

班达在竞选中承诺继续推行姆瓦纳瓦萨的利于商业和反腐败的政策。人们认为这些政策成功地遏制了通货膨胀并使经济出现5%的年增长率。

Sata campaigned on the need for change saying that the economic gains had not reached the poor.

萨塔的竞选口号是需要变革。他说，经济增长没有使穷人受益。

Voter turnout was low for the election. Some observers say this was because of the short time available to prepare voters. Others say it was because the winner will only serve two years, the time remaining in Mr. Mwanawasa's term.

这次选举的选民投票率很低。一些观察家说，这是因为选民只有很短的时间作准备。还有人说，这是因为获胜者只有两年的掌权时间，这两年是姆瓦纳瓦萨总统任期所剩的时间。

The opposition has complained of rigging. But election officials maintain that the vote was free and fair.

In the elections two years ago, Sata complained of rigging after he was narrowly defeated by Mr. Mwanawasa. However, the results were eventually upheld.