VOA标准英语2008年-Coalition Government Falls in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau's coalition¹ government has fallen after a presidential decree dissolved the parliament and named a caretaker prime minister. Brent Latham reports from our West Africa bureau in Dakar, elections are still scheduled for November.
　
Joao Bernardo Vieira (file photo)

President Joao Bernardo Vieira has issued a decree dissolving the parliament of Guinea-Bissau, months before scheduled elections in November. The president appointed a new, caretaker prime minister for the interim² period.

The events mean the formal end of Guinea-Bissau's coalition government. The government, formed in March of last year by the country's three main political parties, was meant to bring stability to the politics of the historically politically unstable³ West African country.

The fall of the government was brought about by the withdrawal⁴ from the ruling coalition last month of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea Bissau and Cape⁵ Verde, or PAIGC, says Lassana Cassama, a reporter in Guinea-Bissau.

Cassama says once the PAIGC dropped out, the government was no longer viable⁶. The PAIGC controlled 45 seats in Guinea-Bissau's 100 member parliament.

Mr. Vieira said he had consulted the political parties and civil society before issuing the decree dissolving parliament. He named Carlos Correia, a veteran politician and PAIGC member, as the interim prime minister. Correia has served as prime minister twice before, most recently in 1998.

Cassama says Correia is unlikely to get very far in forming a new government before scheduled elections on November 16. He says, despite Guinea-Bissau's tumultuous political history, elections are expected to proceed as scheduled.

Mr. Vieira first became president of Guinea-Bissau in 1980, when he seized power as head of a coup⁷ staged by the armed forces. He was ousted⁸ following a civil war in 1999, but returned to office in 2005 when as an independent candidate he won the presidential election in a runoff.

 

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 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

3 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

4 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

5 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

6 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

7 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。

8 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。