VOA标准英语2010-International Parliamentarians Call for S

Selah Hennessy | London 09 April 2010

Dozens of parliamentarians from around the world made a call Friday for the upcoming elections in Sudan to be postponed². In a public letter they say the building blocks for a free and fair election are not in place.

The letter was signed by over 30 Parliamentarians from Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Angelika Beer is a former Member of the European Parliament and co-chairs the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention and Human Security. "This international initiative urges to withdraw the elections in the moment because we are sure that it would be better to postpone¹ the election for a while to find a new solution and to ensure that the opposition³ groups can participate," she said.

The presidential, legislative⁴, and gubernatorial elections are scheduled to begin Sunday.

The election follows the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or CPA, which brought to an end one of Africa's longest civil wars.

The ballot⁵ will be the country's first multi-party election since 1986, but a number of opposition groups have said they plan to boycott⁶.

And, says Beer, the outcome of the vote is now evident.  "The result of elections if they take place now is very clear. President Bashir will be elected once again but that is not the peaceful solution for Darfur neither for the next decision in the next year if the South will belong to Sudan in the future or not," she said.

A referendum is due to take place in January of next year to decide if the country's northern and southern regions will split.

Beer says the international governments and organizations that supported the CPA in 2005 now need to ensure that the agreement is implemented⁷ properly. 

But, says African elections expert Justin Willis, it may now be too late.

He says the problems with Sudan's election have been evident for over a year.  "Sadly not enough has really been done in order to prepare logistically, organizationally for this, and not enough has been done either to ensure freedom and fairness," he said.

And, he says, some of the responsibility lies with the international community, which he says could have done more to ensure free and fair elections in Sudan. "It's not being run by the UN as elections in some other countries have been, so it's a national responsibility, but nonetheless more pressure could have been put on to make sure that proper arrangements were made and I suspect more could have been done in terms of infrastructure⁸, financial support and so on," he said.

President Omar al-Bashir is expected to be re-elected in the vote. He has been indicted⁹ by the International Criminal Court for alleged¹⁰ war crimes.

The election is set to conclude Tuesday.
 

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 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。

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 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。

5 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。

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 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

10 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