VOA标准英语2009年-Initial Returns Indicate Namibia's SWA

The head of Pan-African Parliament's observer team, Ambrose Dery of Ghana, said the process had been fraught¹ with irregularities, but these had not affected² the overall outcome

Scott Bobb | Johannesburg 02 December 2009

Namibians queue to vote at a polling station in Windhoek, Namibia, 27 Nov 2009

Early returns from last week's elections in Namibia show with about one-third of the votes counted the ruling South West Africa People's Party appears headed for a landslide³ victory with three-fourths of the vote.  But a new party, the Rally for Democracy and Progress, is emerging as the likely opposition⁴ leader with about 9 percent. 

A trend began to emerge as tabulation⁵ entered a fourth day following Namibia's national elections last week.  The ruling South West Africa People's Party appears headed for a landslide victory. 

The head of the Pan-African Parliament's observer team, Ambrose Dery of Ghana, said the process had been fraught with irregularities, but these had not affected the overall outcome.

"Above all, because of the involvement of the Namibian police who are perceived by all stakeholders to be very independent of government control, the fact that they were represented at all of the polling stations and involved at various stages of the electoral process, we have drawn⁶ the conclusion that it [the election] was free, fair and credible⁷." said Dery.

Dery said, however, that his team had registered numerous problems.  The voter registration⁸ list, which was issued four separate times, contained many errors and irregularities.

Coverage⁹ in the news media heavily favored the ruling SWAPO party.

There were reports of voter intimidation¹⁰ and only the two major parties had monitors at all the polling stations.

He said a new process that allowed people to vote at polling stations other than where they were registered caused confusion and was a major cause of the delays in vote counting.

Observers from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community issued similar assessments¹¹.

Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba is expected to be re-elected to a second, five-year term and SWAPO, which has dominated Namibian politics since independence nearly 20 years ago, is expected to retain its dominance in parliament.

But a new party, the Rally for Democracy and Progress, has made a strong showing and is likely to become the main opposition party.

The RDP was formed two years ago after its leader, former foreign minister Hidipo Hamutenye, lost his bid to become SWAPO leader upon the retirement¹² of Namibia's first president, Sam Nujoma.

Dery said the delays in announcing the election results were causing considerable anxiety among the general public.

"People are concerned," added Dery. "And I believe that it is the view of the majority of people that we have interacted with that it would have been better if the results were declared faster than they are being done now."

Officials say they hope to announce the final results by the end of the week. 

 

1 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

4 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。

5 tabulation   

作表，表格； 表列结果； 列表； 造表

参考例句：

• A tabulation of a function of two variables is cumbersome, but possible. 二元函数的列表法是不方便的，然而是可能的。
• Such a tabulation cannot represent adequately the complex gradation relationships between the types. 这样的图表不能充分代表各类型之间的复杂级配关系。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

8 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

9 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

10 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

11 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。