2007年VOA标准英语-Election Boycott Threatens Senegal's Democratic

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
12 April 2007

Even though Senegal is located in a part of the world known for volatile¹ and violent politics, it is the only West African country to not have had a coup². Seven years ago, it held democratic elections that brought a new party to power. But, after President Abdoulaye Wade³ was re-elected earlier this year, opponents cried fraud and have vowed⁴ to boycott⁵ the upcoming legislative⁶ election. Local civil society is alarmed, while analysts⁷ consider the long-term impact of this potential boycott. Phuong Tran has more from Dakar.

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President Abdoulaye Wade outlines his next term after official results declare him the winner of Senegal's election, 1 Mar 2007

More than 10 opposition⁹ parties say they refuse to participate in an election they say will be unfair. They say the president won his re-election through fraud.

Spokesman Yankhoba Seydi, of the Rewmi Party, which came in second in the presidential election, says his party wants electoral changes before participating.

 

"Let us talk about the rules. There are many things that are wrong in the registration¹¹ process. Let us check the multiple cards that [are] issued for the voters," he said.

 

The president's office says the opposition is boycotting¹² because it is scared of being crushed in the next election.

Election observer Alioune Tine says the presidential election was fair, despite some problems.

International observers also said the vote was free and fair, despite minor¹³ problems and some inequality in media coverage¹⁴.

Tine, the director of the Senegal-based human rights group, RADDHO, says the opposition needs to recognize Mr. Wade fairly won almost 56 percent of the vote, before the president will meet with them.

"You know the president is a man who wants people to recognize his competence¹⁵, to recognize [his] qualities, et cetera, it is a human feeling," he said.

RADDHO is one of about a dozen civil society groups, called the Civil Forum¹⁶, trying to stop the boycott.

 

"I think that the problem with the opposition is that the condition is to discuss or to boycott. It was not the best way to [encourage] dialogue and to make our electoral system [stronger]," he said.

The Civil Forum submitted a letter to President Wade last Friday requesting to mediate¹⁷ a meeting between the two sides.

Presidential spokesman Amadou Sall says there is no need for civil society to play referee¹⁸. He says the constitutional court already ruled elections were fair.

 

"We do not know why [under] this condition we [would] we receive civil society. To do what? I really do not know if the president will do it," he said.

This all comes as Senegal fine-tunes its request to the United States Millennium¹⁹ Challenge Corporation, which rewards poor, but well-governed countries with grants to reduce poverty.

At stake is up to $800 milllion to finance a large-scale business and residential¹⁰ development.

The person in charge of Senegal's Millennium Challenge application, Sogue Diarisso, says he is confident Senegal's high rank for good governance will not drop significantly, as a result of the threatened boycott.

He says Senegal is starting out much higher rating than other poor countries, in terms of democracy, and that the threat of a boycott does not change the solid core of Senegal's democratic history.

But Chris Fomunyoh, the Central and West Africa program director for the U.S.-based election watchdog group National Democratic Institute, says a boycott can hurt a country's democracy, in the long-term.

"When you have a huge segment that is not participating in the political process, it is difficult to expect that those that win power, through that process, will have legitimacy²⁰ they need to be able to govern," he said.

The twice-delayed legislative election is scheduled to take place June 3. The president's office has said that it does not plan to delay the election again, regardless of opposition party participation²¹.

1 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

4 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。

5 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

6 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。

7 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。

8 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

9 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。

10 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

11 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

12 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

13 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

14 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

15 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

16 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

17 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

18 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

19 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

20 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

21 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。