2007年VOA标准英语-Mali's President Amadou Toumani Touré Wins Seco

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
03 May 2007

Official results in Mali's presidential election on Sunday give victory to the incumbent¹, Amadou Toumani Touré.  Losers in the poll have alleged² wrongdoing, but observers said the poll was well conducted.  Naomi Schwarz has this report from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

President Amadou Toumani Touré votes, 29 April 2007

The final results show President Amadou Toumani Touré (commonly called by his initials ATT) has been elected to a second term in Mali with nearly 70 percent of the votes.  He had claimed victory Monday, based on partial results.

Kissy Agyeman of the British-based research group Global Insight says Mr. Touré's victory was expected.

"I think ATT's win has come with little surprise," she said.  "It really has been touted³ as a forgone⁴ conclusion because he is someone who is quite genuinely liked on the ground in Mali.  I think people are quite nostalgic as to the improvements ATT has brought.  He [brought] multi-party politics to the country in 1991."

Mr. Touré led a coup⁵ in 1991 to overthrow⁶ a military dictatorship.  He handed power to the democratically elected president the following year, and only returned to power after being elected in 2002.

Agyeman says the only surprise this election is the president's large margin⁷ of victory.  While many analysts⁸ predicted Mr. Touré would be the eventual⁹ winner, they believed the election would have to go to a second round.  Mali's laws require a second round if no candidate wins an absolute majority of the vote.

Now that the official results are in, the next and final step is that they have to be approved by the nation's top court.

Turnout for the election was low, especially in the capital, Bamako.  Only 36 percent of Malians voted.  This is approximately the same percentage as voted in the first round election in 2002.

Some opposition¹⁰ leaders have made charges of ballot¹¹ tampering¹² and fraud, but international observers deemed the election valid¹³.

Mr. Touré has pledged to continue the policies he began in his first term.

Agyeman says the most important order of business will be working on the economy.

"It is a very narrow economy and it relies very heavily on primary commodities, gold and cotton," she explained.  "So I think ATT should focus on how to diversify¹⁴ Mali's economy and really bring out the country from the economic difficulties that it sees itself in at present."

Mali is the world's third-poorest country, according to the U.N. Human Development index.  The country suffers from chronic¹⁵ water shortages, and most residents live in rural areas without running water or electricity.

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

4 forgone   

v.没有也行，放弃( forgo的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Tax expenditures are the revenues forgone due to preferential tax treatment. 税收支出是由于税收优惠待遇而放弃的收入。 来自互联网
• The alternative forgone is called the opportunity cost. 这种选择性的放弃就叫做机会成本。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

7 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

8 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。

9 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

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 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

12 tampering   

v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• Two policemen were accused of tampering with the evidence. 有两名警察被控篡改证据。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As Harry London had forecast, Brookside's D-day caught many meter-tampering offenders. 正如哈里·伦敦预见到的那样，布鲁克赛德的D日行动抓住了不少非法改装仪表的人。 来自辞典例句

13 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？

14 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

15 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。