VOA常速英语2008年-Opposition Claims Victory in Zimbabwe Election,

By VOA News
01 April 2008
  

Zimbabwe's main opposition¹ party is claiming victory in the country's general elections, despite the slow trickle² of official results from Saturday's vote. Zimbabwe's electoral commission released tabulations Monday [March 31] showing the ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change each winning 19 parliamentary seats out of a total 210. The MDC claims it is winning a large majority of seats and claims MDC founder³  Morgan Tsvangirai is leading President Robert Mugabe in the presidential race by a two to one margin⁴.

On the streets of Zimbabwe's major cities, sporadic⁵ celebrations and riot police have been seen in the past two days.  A correspondent for VOA, who must remain anonymous⁶ for security reasons, is in Zimbabwe, files this report on the lead-up to elections.

It is a nation in waiting. The streets of Zimbabwe's major cities are quiet, in these days after one of the most hotly contested presidential and parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe's history.  People go about their daily business.  They keep their eyes on the government-controlled local tv station, and they keep their ears to the ground [paying close attention].

But at the Bulawayo command center for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, people here are buzzing about possible victory.  MDC spokesperson Tabitha Khumalo explains the excitement, "As Zimbabweans, we have made a statement.  We have told the ruling party, ZANU-PF, that they have failed dismally⁸."

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe faces his toughest challenge after 28 years in power.  MDC founder Morgan Tsvanigirai is running for the fourth time and the faction⁹ of the party he leads claims a landslide¹⁰ victory in both the presidential and parliamentary elections.  While official results are only trickling¹¹ out, election workers, for the first time, must post the vote outside and so people are tabulating¹² results independently.

Khumalo says, "There is need for us to be on 'red alert.'  We are holding the results.  We are not going to sleep.  We are going into fifth gear.  This is a challenge, we need to prepare for the worst and the best."

After MDC claims of victory, supporters celebrated¹³ on the streets.  But their jubilation¹⁴ was soon quelled¹⁵ when riot police arrived here.  Officers instructed people to keep celebrations at a minimum until results are official.

Riot police also patrol the capital city Harare.  The U.S. Embassy warns of the  potential for violence.  A Zimbabwe government spokesman says the MDC's claims of victory amounts to a coup¹⁶ attempt.

The state-controlled media Monday released the official results slowly.  Six parliamentary winners were announced every 15 minutes in English and two native languages [Ndebele and tshona].  Election monitors said the slow process fueled speculation¹⁷ of vote rigging.

"There are four elections,” George Chiweshe,  Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chairman said. “We have never had four elections before.  So, we don't know how long it's going to take us this time."

After casting his vote at a school Saturday in Harare, President Robert Mugabe had told reporters that he would accept the voice of the people in this election. "We don't rig elections," he said.

But when reporters questioned Cheweshe about legitimacy¹⁸ of the election, he ran away from news cameras.

Thoko Khupe, the vice¹⁹ president of the MDC says, "They [the people] know that they have won this election.  Results are posted in each and very polling station. I think that everybody in Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF too [the ruling party], is well aware of what is going to happen if this election is stolen again."

"It is now public knowledge that we have won this election. It is not something that is private, everyone knows it. So how can you steal something that is already in the public eye? I think that this time around, we will not allow this situation to happen again," said Khupe.

But only minutes after this interview, riot police again approached the MDC offices.  Another Zimbabwean journalist caught on camera an altercation²⁰ between officers and Khupe. He also said that the police again threatened to arrest everyone present if they spoke⁷ of victory or celebrated - harsh threats and unclear answers, for a nation still in waiting.

1 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。

2 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 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。

5 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

6 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 dismally   

adv.阴暗地，沉闷地

参考例句：

• Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分
• He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句

9 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

10 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。

11 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 tabulating   

把（数字、事实）列成表( tabulate的现在分词 )； 制表

参考例句：

• The Census Office did not finish tabulating the results until 1888. 直到1888年，人口普查办公室才完成统计数字表格。
• By 1890 a revolutionary electrical tabulating system was available. 到了1890年，一种具有革命意义的电动制表装置投入使用。

13 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

14 jubilation   

n.欢庆，喜悦

参考例句：

• The goal was greeted by jubilation from the home fans.主场球迷为进球欢呼。
• The whole city was a scene of jubilation.全市一片欢腾。

15 quelled   

v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thanks to Kao Sung-nien's skill, the turmoil had been quelled. 亏高松年有本领，弹压下去。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
• Mr. Atkinson was duly quelled. 阿特金森先生被及时地将了一军。 来自辞典例句

16 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。

17 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

18 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。

19 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

20 altercation   

n.争吵，争论

参考例句：

• Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。
• The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。