VOA标准英语2009年-Mauritanian Opposition Rejects Constitutio

Political opponents of Mauritanian President-elect Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz say they will continue to fight against the results of a vote that they say was fraudulent. The country's Constitutional Council says the Aziz victory stands.
　
General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (File)

Mauritanian opposition¹ leaders are calling out their supporters to demonstrate Saturday against what they say was a "hijacked² election."

In a written statement, opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah called on all Mauritanians to reject what he calls this new coup³ d'etat and engage in all forms of democratic struggle to defend the rights of the free choice of the governed, their liberty, their dignity, and the stability of the country.

He praised what he says is the courage of Electoral Commission Chairman Sid Ahmed Ould Deye, who resigned Thursday saying opposition complaints have "sown doubts" in his mind about the reliability⁴ of the election.

Mauritania's Constitutional Council had no such doubts.
　
Mauritanian opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah (File photo)

Council President Abdellahi Ould Ely Salem says the constitutional court validated⁶ the results of Saturday's vote because opposition allegations of electoral fraud were too vague and offered no proof to challenge the Aziz win.

Salem says observers from each of the candidates campaigns signed the vote totals submitted by each polling station. The council's legal advisors⁷, the Independent Electoral Commission, and the Interior Ministry⁸ all concluded that the vote was valid⁵.

The Council's decision can not be appealed, leaving the opposition little choice for further action outside of public demonstrations⁹.

Nouakchott University law professor Nema Ould Ahmed Zidane says the opposition's refusal to accept the Constitutional Council's decision has no legal basis and is purely¹⁰ political.

The European Union says opposition allegations of electoral fraud "should be properly investigated" by Mauritania "in accordance with national law and international standards." But that leaves the inquiry¹¹ in the hands of the incoming Aziz administration and is far short of opposition demands for an independent international investigation¹².
　
A soldier stands guard as women wait in line to cast their vote for president, outside a polling station in central Nouakchott, Mauritania, 18 Jul 2009

Observers from the African Union and Arab League say the vote was fair. Former colonial power France says there were no major anomalies. The Arab Democracy Foundation found partisan¹³ electoral officials among several irregularities it reported, but none that it said would affect the final outcome.

Official results say Aziz won more than 52 percent of the vote, making last year's coup leader this year's president without a second round of voting in which Daddah and National Assembly President Messaoud Ould Boulkheir had vowed¹⁴ to unite against him.

Aziz toppled Mauritanian's first freely-elected leader last August. He then changed the constitution to allow military reservists to run for political office before resigning his commission to declare his candidacy.

Aziz supporters say the former general will be inaugurated as president next week.

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 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

3 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。

4 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

5 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

6 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句

7 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

10 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

11 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

14 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。