VOA常速英语2007-Musharraf Wins Presidential Vote as Expected, Vi

By Daniel Schearf
Islamabad
06 October 2007

Pakistani legislators have cast their votes for president in a controversial election, and President Pervez Musharraf is the victor, as expected. But the Supreme¹ Court could later overturn the result, and its decision will not be known for more than a week. Daniel Schearf explains in Islamabad.

Only lawmakers from Pakistan's national and provincial² parliaments voted for president Saturday.

General Pervez Musharraf's supporters have a majority in the parliaments, so it was expected that he would win another five-year term as president.

But that does not mean he has popular support. The public did not participate in the election, and many people, like 47-year-old Tariq, say the vote is illegitimate.

"I don't think it's [an] election because the opposition³ has already given their resignations against the presidential election. So, this presidential election has no value in my point of view," he said.

Before the vote took place, almost 200 opposition legislators resigned their parliamentary seats in protest. They argue that as head of the army, Mr. Musharraf is not allowed to run for president. They also said the election should be postponed⁴ until new parliaments convene⁵ next year.

Legislators from Pakistan's largest political party, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) did not resign, but they joined in the protest by abstaining⁶ from Saturday's vote.

The PPP's leader, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, made a deal with Mr. Musharraf Friday: her party would give the vote legitimacy⁷ by not resigning, in return for the dropping of corruption⁸ charges against her and other former party officials.

The negotiations⁹ have subjected them both to accusations¹⁰ of political opportunism. Talat Masood is a retired¹¹ general and political analyst¹². He says the political wheeling and dealing¹³ has moved Pakistan toward instability.

"What the country needs today is strengthening of the rule of law, strengthening of institutions and not taking any action which further weakens them. And I think these compromises etcetera are further weakening the state. They may be strengthening these individuals in some form, but they are definitely weakening the state," said Masood.

Saturday's vote could still be nullified by the Supreme Court. The court ruled Friday that the election could go ahead, but said the result will not be official until it rules on Mr. Musharraf's eligibility¹⁴ to run for re-election while still in uniform. That decision is not expected until later this month.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

6 abstaining   

戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的现在分词 )； 弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Abstaining from killing, from taking what is not given, & from illicIt'sex. 诸比丘！远离杀生，远离不与取，于爱欲远离邪行。
• Abstaining from arguments was also linked to an unusual daily cortisol pattern. 压抑争吵也造成每日异常的皮质醇波动。

7 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。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。