2007年VOA标准英语-Presidential Candidates Debate Development in S

By Naomi Schwarz
Freetown
08 August 2007

Sierra Leone's leading presidential candidate, Vice¹ President Solomon Berewa, boycotted² country's first-ever pre-election debates. But the other six candidates were on hand and discussed employment, education, health and other issues before an invited crowd. Naomi Schwarz is in Freetown and has more.

Presidential candidate Charles Margai caused a stir at the presidential debates when he arrived, fully³ clad in his party's orange, more than an hour and a half late.

But the candidate from the newly formed People's Movement for Democratic Change caused an even larger stir minutes later when he accused the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party of inciting⁴ political violence. "All of us here will be pretending if we were to say that we do not know the ruling SLPP is bent⁵ on perpetrating violence in this country," he said.

He said the debate is an exercise in futility⁶ if the elections are not free, fair, democratic and violence free.

But the target of his charge, SLPP candidate, Vice-President Solomon Berewa, was a no-show at the debate. His spokesman, Victor Reider, told VOA political violence was the reason why. "We want some of the leaders, especially the PMDC and the APC leaders, to make a clear and categorical statement against use of violence in this election," he said.

The candidates from SLPP, PMDC, and APC, or All People's Congress, are considered the top contenders to win the election. There have been violent clashes between supporters of these parties in the earlier weeks of the campaign.

The Tuesday debate comes less than a week before presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for Saturday. They are the first elections since peacekeepers left the country after the civil war ended, and the first time there is no incumbent⁷ running.

However, Berewa, the vice-president, is almost like an incumbent. President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah turned power over to him in 2002 and stepped back from an active role in government.

The debate was organized by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists and Democracy Sierra Leone. The candidates had three minutes each to answer questions written in advance by the members of the journalists' association.

They addressed topics ranging from child mortality to brain drain.

Speaking about rampant⁸ unemployment among Sierra Leone's more than three-million youths, All People's Congress candidate, Ernest Bai Koroma, said it was a problem that needed immediate⁹ action. "This is not only a social disaster but an economic waste," he said.

He said, if he won the election, he would put youths to work in building roads, cleaning the garbage-strewn streets, and in farming. He also said he would implement¹⁰ training programs to give professional skills to youths.

But his opponent from the Convention People's Party, Andrew Turay, said education was more important. "All countries that have developed have emphasized education. It is not cheap, it is expensive. We have made it unaffordable to our own people and that is why our kids are out on the streets cleaning the streets of Freetown instead of being doctors or lawyers," he said.

A debate for the vice-presidential candidates was held on Sunday. Berewa's running mate, Momodu Koroma, was not present.

Sierra Leone, although rich in diamonds and other mineral resources, is ranked by the United Nations Development Index as among the world's poorest countries.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

5 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

6 futility   

n.无用

参考例句：

• She could see the utter futility of trying to protest. 她明白抗议是完全无用的。
• The sheer futility of it all exasperates her. 它毫无用处，这让她很生气。

7 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。