VOA常速英语2008年-Zimbabwe Waits to Learn Outcome of Election

By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
30 March 2008

Zimbabweans are anxiously waiting for the results of four elections held Saturday. Election monitors in say tensions are rising as people wait for the release of official results. Peta Thornycroft reports from Harare that political parties have been announcing the outcome at many individual polling stations around the country. The chairman of Zimbabwe's election commission says results from Saturday general elections will be announced early Monday.

With the exception of the presidential election, the outcomes of the parliament, senate and local government polls have to be collected at the regional level and then transmitted to the Zimbabwe Election Commission in Harare.

Some rural telephone lines are not working and mobile networks are barely functioning. Some results in remote mountainous areas will have to be taken by foot or vehicle to the nearest urban center.

The results for the presidential vote go directly from the polling stations to Harare.

The opposition¹ Movement for Democratic Change claimed victory early in the day, based on what the party says was a clean sweep in the second city, Bulawayo, and in the urban areas of the three Mashonaland provinces in central Zimbabwe, traditional strongholds of the ruling ZANU-PF.

In elections in 2002 and 2005 the party also claimed victory early on, but lost in the final outcome. International observers ruled both of those elections flawed. It is still unclear how many people voted.

Many commentators² believe that even though there were more polling stations than expected, voter turnout was low. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network says it believes there was a fair turnout, but is still busy compiling its statistics.

Founding MDC legal secretary, David Coltart, who was standing³ for the senate in Bulawayo, says he recorded 16,000 people turned up to vote in a constituency of more than 40,000 registered voters.

And Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the Morgan Tsvangirai faction⁴ of the M.D.C., says the voter rolls have been heavily padded, creating rich opportunities for rigging the poll. The Election Commission has denied such allegations.

On the eve of these crucial elections, with Zimbabwe's economy in collapse⁵ and inflation soaring beyond 100,000 percent, security services warned they were on high alert, and would crush any protests against results.

Most election observers from African countries have said that so far their impressions on election day were that the process had gone reasonably smoothly⁶.

President Robert Mugabe who is now 84, is seeking a sixth term in office. He is challenged by the M.D.C.'s Tsvangirai, in his second attempt to win a majority of the presidential vote; and newcomer, Simba Makoni, formerly⁷ a ruling ZANU-PF party insider and finance minister.

Some observers say Makoni's entry to the presidential race demonstrated the ruling party is deeply divided; and some analysts⁸ say votes for him and candidates supporting him, will have robbed Mr Mugabe and his party of crucial support.

1 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。

2 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 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。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 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。