VOA常速英语2007-Musharraf Opponents Resign From Parliament, File

By Daniel Schearf
Islamabad
02 October 2007

Pakistani lawmakers have resigned and opposition¹ lawyers filed a last-minute petition against General Musharraf's re-election bid as president. General Musharraf's military successor has also been announced, suggesting he will keep his promise to give up his military leadership. Daniel Schearf reports from Islamabad.

A coalition² of Islamist political parties resigned Tuesday from Pakistan's national parliament in protest at General Musharraf's bid for re-election as president while in uniform.

More than 80 lawmakers tendered their resignations to the National Assembly, which along with the Senate and four provincial³ legislatures elects the president.

Members of at least one provincial assembly have said they also would resign before the October 6th election.

The lawmakers' resignations are symbolic⁴ as General Musharraf can still win re-election.

"In fact, one of the reasons why they are resigning just four days before his re-election is the fact that they realize that we have the required voters, we have the required number, and there should be no problem at all in having him re-elected," said the government's deputy information minister, Tariq Azim.

However, the resignations could further erode⁵ the legitimacy⁶ of an already controversial election.

Mr. Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 military coup⁷, is under pressure to restore civilian⁸ rule.

Opposition parties say his bid to stay in office while he leads the military is unconstitutional and should wait until after parliamentary elections expected before the end of January.

Lawyers on Tuesday filed a last-minute petition with the Supreme⁹ Court seeking to ban the Musharraf candidacy and a postponement¹⁰ of the election. It is not clear when the Supreme Court will rule on the petition but it is not likely to derail the general's re-election bid.

The Supreme Court last week dismissed similar petitions and Pakistan's election commission accepted the nomination¹¹ of General Musharraf.

Also Tuesday, the former head of Pakistan's main spy agency, General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, was appointed as the next chief of the Army.

The appointment suggests that General Musharraf might keep his promise to give up his military leadership after being elected president.

A Western military official in Islamabad has called Kiani a competent and strong commander who could help the military to bring Islamic militants¹² in Pakistan's tribal¹³ areas under control.

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 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

5 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

6 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。

7 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。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 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。

11 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

12 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

13 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。