2006年VOA标准英语-Haiti's President-Elect Faces Numerous Cha

By Amelia Shaw
Port-au-Prince
18 February 2006

After days of turmoil¹ and protests, the interim² government of Haiti declared Rene Preval president on Thursday. Preval receives 51 percent of the votes,the simple majority he needed to win. As Amelia Shaw reports from Port-au-Prince although its political impasse³ resolved, the country is looking ahead to challenges that the president-elect faces as leader of the poorest country in the hemisphere.

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Rene Preval    
  

The week opened with massive protests in Port-au-Prince, and ended with celebrations as frontrunner candidate Rene Preval was declared the winner of a highly contested presidential race.

Mr. Preval's victory was decided⁴ over a matter of vote counting. After hours of negotiation⁵, and support from the international community, election officials created a plan to eliminate some 85,000 blank votes, which gave Mr. Preval a high enough percentage of votes to avoid the second round.

Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, was in Haiti to give support to the interim government. He says discounting blank votes is normal procedure in Latin American countries.

"Every country that has a second round has a system of leaving out the blank votes," he said.
 

Jose Miguel Insulza, left, speaks as U.N. special envoy⁶ for Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdez listens   
  
Insulza says that holding the elections was important for helping⁷ get Haiti back on its feet after two years of interim government rule. The United States and the U.N. Security Council have also welcomed Mr. Preval's election, urging the new government to promote political dialogue and national reconciliation⁸.

Now that Mr Preval is in office, analysts⁹ say he has many challenges ahead. The country has suffered serious security problems at the hands of armed gangs who control the slums and proclaim loyalty¹⁰ to former president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Mr. Preval has vowed¹¹ to fight the wave of kidnappings and crime by cracking down on the gangs.

Experts in Haiti's affairs say it may be difficult for Mr. Preval to get out from under the shadow of his predecessor¹². Many of the people who voted for Mr. Preval are the desperately¹³ poor masses in the slums who see him as a close ally to Aristide. Not only will they be expecting him to alleviate¹⁴ poverty and provide jobs, but they will also be expecting a speedy return home from exile for Aristide. But the U.S. government has hinted that Aristide should remain in South Africa.

Another challenge will be working in collaboration¹⁵ with members of the opposition¹⁶. Mr. Preval's party doesn't have enough congressional candidates to win parliament, and it is likely that the prime minister will come from the opposition. Under the Haitian constitution, the prime minister holds more power than the president.

U.N. special envoy to Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdez says promoting dialogue and national reconciliation are crucial to creating an effective government.

Gabriel said it is important to have a strong parliament that is capable of cooperating with the government, that is respected by the government, that has a democratic opposition that works with the government and is respected by the government.

Since his win, Mr. Preval has kept a low profile and has not addressed the public. But he did meet on Friday with political leaders from other parties, including fourth place candidate Chavannes Jeunes.

Meanwhile, second and third place candidates, Leslie Manigat and Charles Baker¹⁷, have both condemned¹⁸ the deal that made Mr. Preval president.

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 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。

3 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

11 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

12 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

13 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。

14 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

15 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

16 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。

17 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

18 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。