VOA标准英语2009年-Opposition Candidate Wins Ghanaian Presidency

Tax law professor John Atta-Mills is Ghana's next president. The opposition¹ candidate won a hard-fought, much-delayed election to succeed outgoing president John Kufuor.
　

President-elect John Atta-Mills addresses party supporters shortly after being declared winner of the runoff presidential election in Accra, 03 Jan 2009

With results in from Ghana's final electoral constituency, Atta-Mills beat ruling-party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo by fewer than 41,000 votes. Electoral Commission Chairman Kwado Afari-Gyan named Atta-Mills the winner. "On the basis of the official results given, it is my duty to declare Professor John Evans Atta-Mills president-elect of the Republic of Ghana," he said.

Atta-Mills supporters outside the Electoral Commission celebrated² his win, shouting that this year they have brought change to Ghana and will bury the elephant, which is the symbol of the ruling National Patriotic³ Party.

In his third run for the presidency⁴, Atta-Mills withstood two rounds of voting and a special election in a single constituency Friday to claim 50.23 percent of the vote.
Both the ruling party and the opposition National Democratic Congress accused the other of vote fraud, but Electoral Chairman Gyan said the commission did not find sufficient evidence to invalidate the overall result.

Ruling-party candidate Akufo-Addo conceded defeat and congratulated Atta-Mills. But he said party lawyers will go to court over accusations⁵ of opposition intimidation⁶ in the Volta district. "This is today a divided country, and these times call for leadership from all of us," he said.

Atta-Mills told his supporters that he hopes the two parties can work together to build a better country. "Let me say, that the elections are over. We now have one Ghana. There is no NDC Ghana. There is no NPP Ghana. There is no CPP Ghana. There is one Ghana," he said.

The 64-year-old president-elect congratulated Akufo-Addo for giving him a good fight and assured Ghanians that there will be no recriminations against those who did not support him. "I want to assure all Ghanaians that I will be president for all. There will be no discrimination," he said.

Atta-Mills not only captured the presidency but led his party to big gains in parliament, ending the ruling party's legislative⁷ majority by winning 114 of the 228 seats in Ghana's parliament.

Atta-Mills is a former national tax commissioner⁸ who served as vice⁹ president to Jerry Rawlings who came to power in a coup¹⁰ 27 years ago. Mr. Rawlings introduced some economic and political reforms before handing over to President Kufuor in 2001.

Atta-Mills is from Ghana's central region. He studied law at London's School of Oriental and African Studies and at Stanford Law School in California as a Fulbright scholar. He is an avid¹¹ swimmer and played on Ghana's national field hockey team. He and wife Ernestina Naadu Mills have a 19-year-old son.

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 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。

3 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。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

7 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。