VOA慢速英语2015 尼日利亚总统选举中的政党政治

AS IT IS 2015-03-26 Party Politics in Nigeria’s Presidential Election 尼日利亚总统选举中的政党政治

Nigeria is holding elections Saturday following two years of political unrest. Voters will elect both a president and parliament.

The ruling People’s Democratic Party, or PDP, is facing its first real test since coming to power in 1999. The lead opposition¹ party, the All Progressive’s Congress, has become a powerful player in Nigerian politics since it formed in 2013.

How did it happen?

The All Progressive’s Congress, or APC, developed from an alliance of at least three regional Nigerian parties in 2013. The resulting group was large, but critics still said the new party would not survive.

But then leading PDP members began to withdraw from that party, and joined the APC.

“…The headline story this week is the massive defection of some lawmakers in the House of Representatives…”

Five governors joined the APC. Thirty-seven representatives followed them. Then 11 senators left the PDP for the APC. And the moves continued.

In 2014, the PDP seemed to recover. The party had a new leader and it made efforts to solve some of its problems. Some former members returned.

“...The most recent cross: 5,000 APC members in Kaduna state re-joined the PDP…”

The movement between the parties continues even now, with just days to go before presidential and parliamentary elections. The APC and the PDP keep gaining and losing members.

Some observers say results of the vote Saturday could lead to more political moves both ways. Nigerians will be electing state governors and state assemblies on April 11.

“You find people jumping ship quite unashamedly to the party of the president-elect.”

That is Dawn Dimowo, a political expert at the Abuja-based communications and advisory² service Africa Practice. She says the APC’s success in Nigerian party politics has a lot to do with timing³. In her words, “they were able to capitalize on the fact that there was disenchantment within the PDP. There were people who were ready to quit the party and move to the APC. So it got a big boost from that.” 

One of the main areas of dispute: whether President Goodluck Jonathan broke the PDP agreement for power-sharing between Nigeria’s north and south. Under the agreement, each president from the north would be followed by someone from the south, and a northerner would replace a southerner.

Some in the PDP believed the north was owed another term when Mr. Jonathan, a southerner, was a presidential candidate and won in 2011. 

But Nigerian political scientist Kabir Mato thinks the APC is riding a sea of change. He says Nigerians are slowly rejecting the traditional politics of ethnicity, religion and local concerns.

President Jonathan has dismissed the defections in his party. ‘Such is politics,’ he told reporters in February. He said there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics -- just permanent interests. 

The APC has a majority in the House. APC members govern 14 of Nigeria’s 36 states.

Observers say a six-week delay of the elections has helped the ruling party. The postponement⁴ was ordered because of security issues in northern Nigeria. But the vote is still expected to be close.

APC presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari led the military government that ruled Nigeria in 1984 and 1985. He has sought the presidency⁵ several times, most recently in 2011 when he lost to Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr. Buhari won the mostly Muslim north in that vote. But he was weak in the south. The APC has campaigned hard there this time.

Mr. Buhari visited southern Nigeria again this week. Dawn Dimowo says he will receive a lot more votes there this time than he did in 2011. She says it will be exciting to watch what happens.

APC officials describe the presidential election as a judgment⁶ on 16 years of PDP rule. But some experts wonder how different the APC really is. There is a fair bit of the PDP establishment in this new party and probably more will join if Mr. Buhari wins. 

Words in This Story

regional – adj. of or about a part of a country, of the world, that is different from other parts in some way

defection – n. the act of leaving a country, political party or organization, and going to a different one that is a competitor or an enemy

assembly - n. a group of people who make and change laws for a government or organization

capitalize on – v. to use something (such as an event or situation) in a way that helps you; to get an advantage from (something)

disenchantment – n. the state of being no longer happy or satisfied with something

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 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

3 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

4 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。