VOA常速英语2008年-Newly Elected Pakistani Lawmakers Call on Musha

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
27 February 2008

The political parties in what is expected to become the new ruling coalition¹ in Pakistan's national assembly have held their first joint² meeting, calling on President Pervez Musharraf to convene³ the assembly as soon as possible. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad the parties claim they are nearing the critical two-thirds majority needed to impeach⁴ President Musharraf.

Lawmakers from the three main parties comprising what could be Pakistan's new ruling coalition gathered in a downtown hotel in Islamabad Wednesday and urged President Musharraf to convene what is expected to be a hostile parliament as soon as possible.

In remarks carried live on private Pakistani news channels, Pakistan Muslim League-N leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif continued his strong stand against President Musharraf.

"On behalf of all of my colleagues here I would like to inform Mr. Musharraf that we are not prepared to wait for a single more day for the assembly to be convened," he said.

The president cannot convene the assembly before the election commission formally certifies⁵ the final tally⁶ of the February 18 polls. The chief election commissioner⁷ has told VOA that officials plan to meet March 1 and issue the formal notification soon afterwards. 

Lawmakers at Wednesday's meeting claimed they now have 171 lawmakers in their coalition, including several independents. . The coalition needs 182 of the 272 assembly seats allotted⁸ through elections to have the two-thirds "super majority" required to impeach the president.

Criticism of President Musharraf and his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party united these opposition⁹ lawmakers before the elections. Awami National Party leader Asfandyar Wali also said they shared in the loss from the assassination¹⁰ of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

"Yes, Benazir Bhutto belonged to the People's Party, but she also belonged to the moderate democratic forces of Pakistan," he said.

Since the elections, Ms. Bhutto's legacy¹¹ and the general opposition to President Musharraf have been overshadowed by emerging divisions among the parties, particularly on the issue of reinstating Pakistan's senior judges.

President Musharraf dismissed the Supreme¹² Court and other senior judges when he declared emergency rule last November.  Critics accuse him of overthrowing¹³ an independent court that challenged his tight grip on power.

Mr. Sharif has insisted the judges should be reinstated as soon as possible, but PPP leader Asif Zardari has indicated that he wants parliament to decide the issue

1 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。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 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。

4 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

5 certifies   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的第三人称单数 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Authority certifies the identity of sites on the internet. 权威负责向Internet网站授予其标识。
• The paper then certifies this algorithm by infrared image processing. 并且文中使用红外图像对这个算法进行了验证。

6 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

9 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。

10 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

11 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

12 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。

13 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句