VOA标准英语2009年-President Takes Early Lead in Malawi Elect

Election officials in Malawi have begun counting the vote from Tuesday's elections. The vote is being praised by observers as orderly and marked by few irregularities.
　
Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika is seeking a second term, 14 May 2009

Election observers from Malawi and abroad Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the presidential and parliamentary elections saying they were peaceful and marked by high voter turn-out.

The head of the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa, Denis Kadima, said Tuesday's polling was a vast improvement over elections five years ago which were marred¹ by violence and irregularities.

"The process went very well. Actually it exceeded the expectations of many people," Kadima said. "If you look at what happened in this country in 2004 the process [then] was quite weak. But this time around there has been a great level of improvement."

Observers noted² that some voters could not find their names on the rolls. But they said officials resolved most of these problems and only a few were prevented from voting.

However, the head of the Malawi-based Gender³ Coordination⁴ Network, Emma Kaliya, criticized the delay in vote tabulation⁵.

"I think the process is quite slow," Kaliya said. "I do understand and appreciate that our technology can be a bit challenging. But also yesterday the voting went on until very late. And in the rural areas for them to organize the results to come to the tallying⁶ center it is taking a bit long."
　
Ghana's former President John Kufuor, (file photo)

The head of the Commonwealth⁷ observer group, former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, criticized a bias⁸ in media coverage⁹ in favor of government candidates.

"The major handicap, we thought, was the lack of coverage of the parties outside government," Mr. Kufour said. "We did not see much in the media of the other parties except the government only. And that disturbed us a bit."

President Bingu wa Mutharika is seeking a second term and a majority in parliament for his Democratic Progress Party. He is being challenged by John Tembo of the Malawi Congress Party who has been endorsed¹⁰ by former President Bakili Muluzi and his United Congress Party.

Mr. Mutharika is a former ally of Mr. Muluzi. But he broke away soon after his election five years ago to form his own party, leading to an intense rivalry¹¹ during this campaign.

On the eve of the vote, police arrested several employees of an opposition¹² radio station, Joy FM. The station was taken off the air on charges of broadcasting election propaganda after the campaign had officially ended on Sunday.

Station officials said the late-night broadcast was an accident and counter-charged that pro-government media had been broadcasting anti-opposition material since the end of the campaign.

The election coordinator¹³ of the local Justice Link group, Levi Chaima, said the peaceful election was a victory for all and it is time to forget the tensions of the past.

"Definitely the way Malawians have conducted themselves, this is a vote of confidence in the government that is coming. So let's work together as a nation," Chaima said. "Let's be partners with the government."

Election officials say they expect to announce the final results on Thursday.

1 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

5 tabulation   

作表，表格； 表列结果； 列表； 造表

参考例句：

• A tabulation of a function of two variables is cumbersome, but possible. 二元函数的列表法是不方便的，然而是可能的。
• Such a tabulation cannot represent adequately the complex gradation relationships between the types. 这样的图表不能充分代表各类型之间的复杂级配关系。

6 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

7 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

8 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

9 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

10 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

12 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。

13 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？