VOA标准英语2009年-ECOWAS Suspends Niger in Dispute Over Cons

By Scott Stearns
Dakar
20 October 2009

The Economic Community of West African States has suspended Niger for refusing to postpone¹ a legislative² election. The regional alliance wanted Niger to delay the vote to allow for political dialogue following a controversial referendum that has extended the president's time in office.

ECOWAS followed through on its threat to suspend Niger when President Mamadou Tandja went ahead with Tuesday's legislative vote.

 
President Mamadou Tandja casts his vote in a constitutional referendum that would keep him in power, in Niamey, Niger
(File Photo - 04 Aug 2009)
Mr. Tandja ignored last-minute appeals by ECOWAS leaders to delay the poll, saying preparations were too far advanced. The regional alliance asked him to indefinitely suspend the election in favor of political dialogue to resolve a political crisis sparked by an August referendum that changed the constitution to extend the president's time in office.

"ECOWAS is already in touch with the African Union to put the Niger file also on the agenda of the African Union Peace and Security Council, which would also lead to the United Nations taking a similar decision," said Abdel Fatau Musah, the political director of the ECOWAS alliance. "And we know that our partners, like the European Union, are also considering very severed³ measures against President Tandja and the authorities in Niger for blatantly⁴ casting aside their constitution, which actually forbids their president from going beyond two terms."

Opposition⁵ parties are boycotting⁷ this vote for 113 legislators to replace the parliament President Tandja dismissed when it said his constitutional referendum was illegal. The president dismissed the country's constitutional court when it reached the same conclusion.

Alat Mogaskiya is one of the founders⁸ of Niger's Party for Democracy and Socialism. He says President Tandja had the legal authority to dismiss parliament, but ignored the constitutional mandate⁹ to have new elections to replace those lawmakers within 90 days.

Mogaskiya says the new Tandja government is illegal and illegitimate because the referendum extending the president's term was unconstitutional. He says everyone in Niger who is a democrat¹⁰ should ignore all of the new government's decisions.

That includes these legislative elections and local government elections, all of which Mogaskiya says are illegal and illegitimate. So opposition parties are not taking part.

Ruling party communications secretary Issoufou Tamboura says the opposition boycott⁶ will have no impact on the vote, just as its boycott of the referendum had no effect on changing the constitution.

Tamboura says the boycott will not stop the new government from continuing its work and electing a new assembly. Parties are free to join or boycott the vote as they choose.

Tamboura says the boycott will not affect the credibility of this vote because the ruling party is the country's largest and it is taking part. Some other smaller parties are also participating. He says his party believes this election will be credible¹¹.

This vote will further consolidate¹² President Tandja's power, giving him a new assembly to go along with a newly-appointed constitutional court, another three years in office, and the end of presidential term limits.

1 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

2 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。

3 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 blatantly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• Safety guidelines had been blatantly ignored. 安全规章被公然置之不顾。
• They walked grandly through the lobby, blatantly arm in arm, pretending they were not defeated. 他们大大方方地穿过门厅，故意炫耀地挎着胳膊，假装他们没有被打败。

5 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。

6 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

7 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

8 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

12 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。