VOA标准英语2009年-Former Military Ruler Delays Start of Maur

Presidential campaigning is under way in Mauritania. But the country's former military ruler has delayed the start of his campaign to give international mediators more time to resolve the country's political crisis.

Campaigning began without the man widely expected to win Mauritania's June 6 vote.
　
General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz ( file photo)

Former military ruler Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz postponed¹ the launch of his campaign for 24 hours because he says he wants to boost efforts to find a negotiated settlement with political opponents who are boycotting³ the vote.

The former general says the election will take place as planned, but he is delaying the start of his campaign to give international mediators a chance to make progress toward resolving the political crisis that has followed last August's coup⁴.

Aziz toppled Mauritania's first freely-elected leader, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, and refused African Union demands to reinstate him because Aziz said that would not be in the best interest of the Mauritanian people.

So he changed the constitution to allow retired⁵ members of the military to run for office before retiring from the military to run for president in this special election his government is organizing next month.
　
Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi (file photo)

President Abdallahi wants Mauritanians to boycott² that vote. The National Front for the Defense⁶ of Democracy, which supports the ousted⁷ president, and the Alliance of Democratic Forces, which was the main opposition⁸ party before the coup, are both demonstrating against the ballot⁹.

But they have also been meeting with mediators from the African Union and neighboring Senegal. The political parties say preconditions for engaging with the military include canceling the election, releasing political prisoners, and opening state-run media.

Senegal has proposed delaying the vote so opposition parties currently boycotting the ballot can join the electoral process.

Aziz, who has also been meeting with the mediators, says he has made many concessions¹⁰ and is prepared to make even more. But he says his political opponents will have to make concessions as well to find a way out of the situation.

Aziz says the opposition boycott will have no impact on voter turn-out. If he is not convinced by prospects¹¹ for a mediated¹² solution, Aziz says he will open his campaign Friday in the southern city of Kiffa, 600 kilometers outside the capital.

1 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 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。

8 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。

9 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

10 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

11 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

12 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。