VOA标准英语2010年-Ukraine PM to Challenge Presidential E

Ukraine's Central Election Commission says it will no investigate allegations of vote rigging from the February 7 ballot¹

Stefan Bos | Uzhhorod, Ukraine 14 February 2010

Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko speaks at a cabinet meeting during its sitting in Kiev, Ukraine, 11 Feb 2010. Ukraine election officials announced Wednesday that Tymoshenko trailed opposition² leader Viktor Yanukovych by 3.5 percent in Sunday's presidential election. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

Ukrainian election officials say they will not consider Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's complaints of presidential election fraud.  Opposition leader Victor Yanukovich defeated Ms. Tymoshenko by 3.5 percentage points in the February 7 runoff election.  Voters have mixed feelings about Ms. Tymoshenko's attempts to win the presidency³.
 
The ruling by Ukraine's Central Election Commission to not investigate allegations of vote rigging is a setback⁴ for pro-Western Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's campaign to challenge the results of the February 7 ballot.
 
Ms. Tymoshenko said in a televised appeal to the nation Saturday she is convinced her rival, Victor Yanukovich, who seeks closer ties with neighboring Russia, had not won the presidential election.
 
She stressed she would challenge the results in court.
 
Prime Minister Tymoshenko says "Ukraine's election was falsified."  It is not a political declaration, she adds, but the legal assessment⁵ of lawyers.  She says there were likely more than one-million fraudulent votes; the difference between losing and victory.      
 
The prime minister has pledged not to call for street protests similar to those of the 2004 Orange Revolution, which broke out after alleged⁶ election fraud.
 
 Ms. Tymoshenko says "Ukraine does not need more public strife⁷" but "stability and peace."  That is why she says she will only defend the voter's choice in court.  The prime minister makes clear that whatever the outcome of that legal battle, Mr. Yanukovich is, in her view, "not the democratically elected president of Ukraine."
 
But even in Ms. Tymoshenko's political stronghold of Western Ukraine voters have mixed feelings about her attempts to become president.
 
In the border town of Uzzhorod residents watch electronic billboards⁸, but few can buy the promoted  products, as the country faces its deepest recession in recent memory.  Voters also complain about rampant⁹ corruption¹⁰ among local authorities.
 
There is a lack of regular running water in several areas, while doctors at the local hospital admit they do not always provide blood to patients that is tested for the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
 
These social problems also existed before Ms. Tymoshenko and her allies launched the Orange Revolution, in which they pledged reforms and prosperity.  Now five years, later Nadija Prijma regrets that she and her husband returned from neighboring Slovakia, where she was a baby sitter and cleaned homes while her husband worked in the construction business.   
 
She says when the Orange Revolution began, they decided¹¹ to return to Ukraine.  It is something they now deeply regret, because, she says, "the promises of the Orange Revolution were not kept."
 
The apparently¹² victorious¹³ Mr. Yanukovich has pledged to tackle corruption and improve living standards, but not everyone is convinced, including student Andrej Suran, 23.

"I know that in his staff are a lot of very good specialists, bBut his politics and pro-Russian orientation¹⁴, I do not like that," he said.  "I do not think that all things that he told to our people is really the truth.  So I think that he is not very good for our country." 

There is also international concern that a long post-election battle may worsen Ukraine's economic outlook and delay the release of more than $16 billion in emergency assistance from the International Monetary¹⁵ Fund (IMF).  Analysts¹⁶ say the country needs to adopt the 2010 budget to resume cooperation with the IMF and pay for natural gas imports from Russia.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

8 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

9 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

13 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

14 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

15 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。