Palestinian Group Picks Abbas as Presidential Candidate

 

By Sonja Pace
Interim¹ Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is a candidate in upcoming elections to succeed Yasser Arafat. The nomination² followed a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who promised American support for the elections and received Israeli assurances to help facilitate the process by loosening travel restrictions³ in the Palestinian territories.
Within hours after meeting with Colin Powell in the West Bank town of Jericho, PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas was formally nominated as Fatah's candidate in the January 9 elections.
The nomination was widely expected. Mr. Abbas has the support of the Central Committee of Fatah, which the largest and most influential⁴ faction⁵ in the PLO umbrella organization.
The 69-year-old Mr. Abbas was a long-time confidante of Yasser Arafat and for years his number-two man in the PLO. He is a former prime minister, a moderate who has denounced violence and is seen as a technocrat⁶ and favorite of the United States and Israel.
In some ways he might just be what Palestinians want right now. Sociologist⁷ Nader Izzat Sa'id of Ramallah's Birzeit University says recent opinion polls have shown that Palestinians are tired of the usual politicians and of one-man rule.
"In the long-run Palestinians would like to see economic development and they would like to see at the same time an end to occupation," he said. "But they would also like to see that this is done in a proper way and a culture of institutions is created and not reliance on one person."
Mr. Abbas' handling of the smooth transition after Mr. Arafat's death to a collective interim leadership has increased his popularity. Not long ago he was deemed to have almost no grassroots support, but according to an opinion survey conducted after Mr. Arafat's death, 27 percent of those questioned said they favor Mahmoud Abbas as a leader.
But Mr. Abbas does not yet have full support within Fatah. He is a member of the "old guard," and many younger Fatah members want change. Some favor one of their own, 45-year-old Marwan Barghouti as a candidate.
The problem is Mr. Barghouti, a charismatic Fatah activist⁸, is currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli jail for involvement in terrorism. Younger Fatah members are expected to meet Wednesday to decide whether to oppose or support the Abbas nomination.
So far, Mr. Abbas faces few potential challengers - they include a little-known former minister from Hebron and a political science professor from Nablus. Militant⁹ factions¹⁰ such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad have said they will not participate in the upcoming vote.

Sonja Pace, VOA News, Jerusalem.
注释：
succeed 继任
Secretary of State 国务卿
assurance保证, 担保
facilitate推动,促进
loosen  放松，放开
restriction 限制
Jericho古时 Palestine地方的都市, 偏僻的地方
PLO（Palestine Liberation Organization）巴勒斯坦解放组织
confidante知己, 知心的朋友
technocrat专家政治论者
opinion poll 民意调查
reliance 信任
smooth transition 平稳过渡
deem 认为
charismatic 超凡魅力的
potential 潜在的, 可能的
Hebron希布伦(即哈利勒)
Nablus 纳布卢斯(西南亚巴勒斯坦地区的城市,在约旦河西岸)

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

6 technocrat   

n.技术人员，技术官僚

参考例句：

• He is a distant technocrat who is unable to connect with ordinary voters.作为一个冷淡的技术官僚，他不能做到与普通选民息息相通。
• Jack Lew,the new budget director,is the quintessential technocrat.新预算主管杰克·卢就是一个典型的技术官僚。

7 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

8 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。

9 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

10 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别