拉马福萨当选南非新总统

South African Parliament Names Ramaphosa President

South Africa’s parliament has chosen Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s new president.

Ramaphosa was elected by the parliament without a vote in Cape¹ Town, the legislative² capital. South Africa’s chief justice told lawmakers that Ramaphosa was the only candidate nominated.

After the announcement, lawmakers of the ruling African National Congress began to sing and dance in celebration.

However, the opposition³ Economic Freedom Fighters party walked out of parliament before a vote could take place. Party leader Julius Malema said his party does not want to legitimize Ramaphosa’s election. He is calling for parliament to be dissolved and early elections to be held.

The unusual situation came hours after former president Jacob Zuma told the country on national television that he was stepping down.

Zuma’s nine years in office had been marked by many accusations⁴ of corruption⁵. Zuma had wanted to delay his resignation until June. However, ANC members said they would hold a no-confidence vote in parliament Thursday if he did not resign immediately.

Who is Cryil Ramaphosa?

Ramaphosa served as deputy president under Zuma. He was expected to succeed him after being elected president of the ANC in December.

The new president has been active in the ANC since he became a student activist⁶ while studying law in the 1970s.

For his activities, he was arrested in 1974 and jailed for nearly a year in solitary⁷ confinement⁸. Then, he became involved in trade unions as a legal way to protest the racially separated government at the time.

Later, he formed the National Union of Mineworkers in 1982 which grew to have 300,000 members. A strike in 1987 showed the movement’s power to white leaders as international calls for racial equality in the country increased.

South Africa was ruled under a system of racial separation known as apartheid. But that system began to come apart as activists⁹, led by Nelson Mandela, pushed for equality.

Ramaphosa became part of a group tasked with moving South Africa to democracy in 1990 after Mandela was released from 27 years in prison.

Former president Mandela identified Ramaphosa as a leader in a “new generation” of activists. He also led the group that wrote the country’s new constitution.

When Ramaphosa failed to succeed Mandela as president in 1999, he turned to business where he became one of Africa’s richest men.

In his business career, he held stakes in McDonald’s and Coca-Cola local businesses. He made millions of dollars in deals that required investors¹⁰ to partner with non-white shareholders¹¹ in South Africa.

However, a miners’ strike that turned violent in 2012 hurt his popularity. Police killed 34 miners at the Marikana platinum¹² mine. Ramaphosa had been a director of the company at the time.

In recent years, Ramaphosa re-entered politics and became deputy president in 2014. However, as deputy to Zuma, he had been criticized for not speaking out against the president.

Ramaphosa has promised to rebuild the country’s economy, increase growth and create jobs.

South Africa is considered one of the BRICS nations: an association of five major developing economies that include Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The country hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup with hopes that the international sports event would bring tourism, trade and expansion.

But, the nation of more than 50 million people has struggled with weak economic growth and high unemployment of over 25 percent for years.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

legitimize –v. to make acceptable, to give acceptance or legality to

solitary confinement –n. being held without contact with others in prison

no-confidence vote –n. a vote in a legislative body that shows approval or disapproval¹³ of a leader

career –n. the path of someone’s work life

stake –n. a share or interest in ownership

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 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。

4 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。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

8 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

12 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

13 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。