VOA常速英语2007-Togolese Vote in Landmark Election

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
14 October 2007

Voters in Togo started lining¹ up at dawn Sunday to participate in a landmark² election that presents the first major challenge to the ruling party. Observers say this year's vote promises to be the country's first transparent³ election. Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar, with additional reporting from Modeste Messavussu in Lome.

The head of the EU election observation team, Fiona Hall, says voting has been taking place without major problems. Hall adds voters in the capital were patient even when they had to wait for dwindling⁴ or late-arriving supplies.

For the first time, poll workers in Togo verified each ballot⁵ cast with an official stamp, to help prevent fraud.

"Some very long queues here because the members of the polling stations are waiting for some extra stickers to arrive," said Hall. "They have a certain shortage of stickers at the moment, and so there is a little delay in the process."

Despite long lines, voters in Lome say Sunday's poll was better than previous ones.

Ever since Togo introduced multi-party elections in 1993, voting has been marred⁶ by violence and accusations⁷ of fraud.

"It has never happened before. So, seeing this kind of thing, and very peaceful. Nobody fight each other, no fighting, nothing, nothing. I am very happy," said a voter. "There have been a lot of changes, it is very good. I wish the president to continue what he is doing."

The 2005 election that officially installed President Faure Gnassingbe ended in deadly security crackdowns against the opposition⁸ that sent tens of thousands fleeing.

Last year, Mr. Gnassingbe signed a reconciliation⁹ agreement with the opposition, and assigned two opposition leaders to ministerial positions.

Sunday's poll is the first real test for the ruling party, which has held power for almost four decades without being challenged by all the major opposition parties in an election.

President Gnassingbe has said he believes in the fairness of Sunday's vote and will respect the results.

This was the first campaign in 17 years for long-time exiled leader Gilchrist Olympio of Union of Forces for Change, or UFC. He fell ill before Sunday's poll opened and was flown to neighboring Ghana.

But UFC supporters still lined up to vote.

"You do not know. I am very very glad. After 17 years, we are [excited]. We want that this problem will be resolved and business can move," said the voter.

If declared transparent, Sunday's election may unlock millions in much-needed donor¹⁰ dollars. The European Union froze aid in 1993 because of, among other problems, Togo's poor human rights record.

More than two-thousand candidates from 32 parties are competing for 81 positions. The National Electoral Commission has said results will be available within days.

The European Union provided almost $20 million to conduct Sunday's election. With close to three million registered voters, Togo's election costs about $6 per vote.

In a 2006 U.N. study of election costs for countries transitioning to democratic rule, this falls within the average of $4 to $8 per vote.

1 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

4 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。