VOA标准英语10月-Zambians Vote Thursday for President

Zambians go to the polls Thursday to elect a new president following the death in August of Levy¹ Mwanawasa who had won two elections and served six years in office. VOA's Delia Robertson reports from our southern Africa bureau in Johannesburg.

There are four candidates seeking to become president of Zambia in Thursday's poll, but analysts² say the race is really between two main contenders. They are incumbent³ Rupiah Banda of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy and the Patriotic⁴ Front's Michael Sata.

The candidates have now held their last rallies in what has been a vigorous two month campaign. There have been some clashes but in general the process has been peaceful. Researcher Dimpho Motsamai of the independent Institute for Global Dialogue in Johannesburg, says it is likely that polling will go smoothly⁵.

"I think things are sort of under control, we got reports from the SADC observers there, and also we have COMESA there. And they are expecting things to go, in terms of people casting their votes, to go very peacefully," said Motsamai.

But there have been allegations from opposition⁶ parties that the ruling party is planning to rig the poll. Motsamai says these allegations have been fueled by the fact that the Electoral Commission ordered extra ballot⁷ papers.

"Out of 3.9 million registered voters, the electoral commission has printed 4.5 million ballot papers. So already we are talking about a situation where there is a lot of debate on the outcome, regardless of what the outcome is," said Motsamai.

The allegations prompted Sata and another candidate, Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development, to say they will not accept the outcome of the poll if they conclude there has been rigging. Motsamai says this is irresponsible.

"It is really irresponsible leadership on the part of the opposition parties, and I think it is already heightening prospects⁸ for violence, even as we speak," said Motsamai.

The results of a poll released late last week, showed Sata leading with potentially 46 percent, and President Banda trailing behind at 32 percent. But some analysts say the outcome is likely to be very close, and that it is not possible to predict a winner.

1 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

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 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。

4 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

5 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

6 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。

7 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。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。