2007年VOA标准英语-Senegalese Candidates Trade Accusations on Camp

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
10 February 2007

Senegal's campaign for a presidential election later this month has been mostly peaceful, but candidates have started trading nasty accusations¹. By far, the candidate facing the harshest criticism is the incumbent² Abdoulaye Wade³.   VOA's Nico Colombant reports.

 
Posters for Abdoulaye Wade
Mr. Wade promised new monuments, new factories, new universities at a recent campaign stop in the southern town of Kolda.

Some of his opponents have dubbed⁴ him "Mr. Promise".

When coming to power seven years ago as a liberal candidate, ending four decades of socialist⁵ rule, Mr. Wade had promised new roads, youth employment and better government services.

But many parts of big cities in Senegal look like abandoned construction sites. Residents have become used to recurrent power outages. Thousands of youth take to the Atlantic Ocean every month on flimsy pirogues (canoes) desperately⁶ seeking a new life in Europe.

 
A Moustapha Niasse supporter in Dakar
One opposition⁷ candidate, Moustapha Niasse, who was once his prime minister, accused Mr. Wade of being responsible for the Joola ferryboat disaster in 2002, which killed an estimated 1,800 people.

Mr. Wade called him a liar⁸.  He said he should feel lucky he had not been put in jail in recent years for alleged⁹ wrongdoing while he was prime minister.

Mr. Niasse says maybe it should be the other way around.

"I am wondering myself if we see all the things he did during these seven years, if a prison in this world will be sufficient for President Wade," he said.  "If President Wade really had full accusations he would not wait until now to say that. So this man is afraid, as he has no results to present to the population."

Another candidate, and former prime minister, Idrissa Seck, who was effectively jailed, but later released, has called for a generational change in power.

He says he assumes Mr. Wade's liberal heritage, but not his failed policies. 

Opponents of the incumbent also say Mr. Wade is too old to run again. The president's age is listed as 80, but many opposition candidates say he is in his mid¹⁰ 80s.

There are 15 candidates.  More than 50 percent of the vote is needed to win outright¹¹ in the first round, February 25.

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

3 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

11 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。