VOA常速英语2007年-Nigeria's Electoral Court Puts Presidential Vic

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
22 November 2007

A special electoral court in Nigeria is investigating charges of cheating in April elections and could overturn the results in key votes. They have already overturned the results in several gubernatorial elections, and even the president's job is on the line. Analysts² say the process is creating uncertainty³ in Nigeria and pulling attention away from other development issues, but that it is crucial to restore confidence in the country's young democracy. Naomi Schwarz has more from VOA's regional bureau in Dakar.

Official Nigerian election results handed ruling party candidate, current President Umaru Yar'Adua, a landslide⁴ victory in the April vote. But observers condemned⁵ the polls, which also included state and legislative⁶ races, as marred⁷ by widespread rigging and voter intimidation⁸. Even Mr. Yar'Adua has acknowledged there were irregularities.

A special court has been convened⁹ to hear complaints by Mr. Yar'Adua's opposition¹⁰ in the election. And if the court overturns the results, the country could have to re-do the election entirely¹¹.

The courts have already unseated a handful of governors who had been sworn in to the powerful positions. Chidi Odinkalu of Nigeria's Open Society Initiative says this is a sign of things to come.

"The popular perception is that many more governors are going to be judicially¹² removed," he said.

Odinkalu says it is the first time the court has acted on such a big scale, and he hopes future elections will be fairer as a result.

"I think people are increasingly more confident that the result of this is that politicians are going to think many more times before going down the route of rigging," he added.

Elizabeth Donnelly, an analyst¹ at British-based Chatham House, says it is good news for Nigeria to see the courts acting¹³ independently in this way.

But she says overturning Mr. Yar'Adua's election would create problems.

"I think it will be very problematic if the election is nullified, because you have to ask what will happen then," said Donnelly. "Will there be another election, and if that happens, well, why should it be any different from the elections that happened in April?"

She says although Mr. Yar'Adua's party participated in cheating, the opposition parties are guilty as well. Since Nigeria turned to democracy and ended three decades of military dictatorship in 1999, fraud and rigging have been reported in every election.

Donnelly says the cost in time and resources required to have a new election would be a drain on Nigeria's economy. And she says if Mr. Yar'Adua is removed, far worse outcomes are possible.

"Worst case scenario¹⁴, it would be nullified and the country would be thrown in to chaos," she said.

Donnelly says she thinks the worst outcome is unlikely because the country remained mostly peaceful when the rigged results were announced.

Otive Igbuzor, from Action Aid Nigeria, says the fraudulent elections created their own problems, because elected officials must now defend their positions in court instead of governing.

"So the country is already suffering," he said. And if many are overturned and they go back to elections, Nigeria will suffer in many ways."

But Igbuzor says forcing politicians to be accountable for cheating will have important long-term benefits.

"The positive aspects of it in terms of strengthening democracy and ensuring that we are fair outweighs¹⁵ whatever negative impact that might likely occur from any overturn," he said.

President Yar'Adua has said he will respect whatever the court decides. Many analysts say he would win again in a new election, and could benefit from a stronger mandate¹⁶ if the new election was conducted more fairly. The president has also promised electoral reform.

1 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。

2 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。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

8 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

9 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

10 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。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 judicially   

依法判决地，公平地

参考例句：

• Geoffrey approached the line of horses and glanced judicially down the row. 杰弗里走进那栏马，用审视的目的目光一匹接一匹地望去。
• Not all judicially created laws are based on statutory or constitutional interpretation. 并不是所有的司法机关创制的法都以是以成文法或宪法的解释为基础的。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

15 outweighs   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的第三人称单数 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• Her need to save money outweighs her desire to spend it on fun. 她省钱的需要比她花钱娱乐的愿望更重要。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Its clarity in algebraic and analytical operations far outweighs any drawbacks. 文化代数和解析运算中的清晰性远远胜过任何缺点。 来自辞典例句

16 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。