IN THE NEWS - Ukraine's Presidential Election

IN THE NEWS - Ukraine's Presidential Election
By Jill Moss¹ and Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Saturday, November 27, 2004

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Ukrainian officials this week declared Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner of Ukraine's presidential election. They say he defeated opposition² leader Viktor Yushchenko in the election last Sunday. Officials say Mister Yanukovych won forty-nine percent of the vote. They say Mister Yushchenko received forty-six percent.

But on Thursday, Ukraine's Supreme³ Court stopped the Central Elections Commission from officially publishing the election results. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear objections from Mister Yushchenko and his supporters on Monday.

Mister Yushchenko says there was widespread cheating in the election. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union and the United States also have criticized the vote. But Russian observers are dismissing the criticism. Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the election as open and honest.

 
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Since Monday, opposition supporters have demonstrated in Kiev and other cities to protest the official election results. On Friday, demonstrators blocked entrances to government offices in the capital. They also briefly⁵ stopped Prime Minister Yanukovych from entering his office. At the same time, many mineworkers who support him were entering the city.

The V-O-A reporter in Kiev has said there are fears that Ukraine could divide if the dispute is not dealt with quickly. Eastern Ukraine supported Mister Yanukovych in the election. The western part of the country supported Mister Yushchenko.

Some historians and political scientists say the two men represent a divide between Russia and Europe. Russia has deep economic, ethnic⁶ and language ties to Ukraine. It considers Ukraine an important ally. The Russian President attended election campaign events for Mister Yanukovych.

The Ukrainian Prime Minister wants to strengthen economic and political ties with Russia. Many of his supporters speak Russian. The areas where they live depend economically on Russia.

Most supporters of Mister Yushchenko mainly speak Ukrainian. Many live in Ukraine's largest cities. Mister Yushchenko says he supports democratic reforms and wants to ease government controls. He also wants to increase ties between his country and the West.

One year ago, elections for parliament were held in Georgia. Public protests over that vote led Georgia's President to resign.

 
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On Friday, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma met with the two candidates. European and Russian officials also attended the meeting. They included European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and President Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland. Later, Mister Kuchma announced the creation of a working group to end the election dispute. He said both candidates agreed to stand against any use of force to settle the crisis.

IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss and Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 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。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

5 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。