VOA标准英语2010年-Guinea's New Electoral Chief to Decide

The new head of Guinea's electoral commission starts work Thursday. His first job is deciding whether the country can hold presidential elections on Sunday.

General Siaka Toumany Sangare meets with members of the independent national electoral commission, including its former chief Louceny Camara, who now serves as a deputy chairperson, alongside Hadja Mame Camara, as part of a political compromise.

It is not an entirely¹ new situation for Sangare, who is an election specialist with the International Organization of the Francophonie and was already a technical assistant to the commission.

But it is one thing to be an outside advisor² and quite another thing for the Malian to sit atop Guinea's much-contested electoral commission, three days before a scheduled presidential run-off between former Prime Minister Cellou Diallo and long-time opposition³ leader Alpha Conde.

Sangare says he is grateful for the trust placed in him by Guinea's interim⁴ military leader General Sekouba Konate.

He says, with the help of his colleagues on the electoral commission as well as other officials involved in this process and the two candidates, he can steer⁵ the ship of the second round into a safe harbor, God willing.

But Sangare says he will not know until later Thursday if the second-round runoff can take place Sunday, as scheduled. Sangare will also meet with Diallo and Conde and is urging both candidates to leave their animosity in the past.

Violence last month between Diallo and Conde supporters postponed⁶ a second-round vote that had already been delayed by legal challenges to the results of June's first round, in which Diallo won 44 percent of the vote and Conde finished second with 18 percent.

General Konate is trying to return Guinea to civilian⁷ rule, nearly two years after soldiers took power in a military coup⁸ following the death of long-time leader Lansana Conte.
 

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 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。

4 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。

5 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

6 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。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 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。