VOA标准英语2011--Kenya Reform Moves Forward

Kenya's coalition¹ government is finally moving forward with its judicial² reform agenda after President Mwai Kibaki's surprise withdrawal³ of key nominations⁵ after nearly a month of controversy⁶.
Since late January, Kenya's coalition government has been engulfed⁷ in a bitter struggle between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga over controversial nominations for Kenya's judiciary. The disagreement splintered into many different fronts, with the matter being brought before the high court in two separate cases, before parliamentary committees and before Speaker Kenneth Marende.
Marende, who initially⁸ chided both president and prime minister for their lack of unity⁹, on Thursday ruled the nominees¹⁰ unconstitutional and ordered both parties to reach a consensus¹¹ on the nominees.
The president and his Party of National Unity initially rejected the ruling, promising¹² to continue the fight in Kenya's courts.
But in a surprise move Tuesday, Kibaki, flanked by key allies in parliament, announced he would withdraw his nominations.
"Considering the importance of the Office of the Chief Justice as the head of the judicial arm of the government, it is beneficial that the nomination⁴ to fill this office during the transition period is also done through the Judicial Service Commission," Kibaki said.
The president told reporters he would meet with Odinga to discuss the position of attorney general.
While the prime minister was attending the African Union Summit in Ethiopia, Kibaki submitted the names of Judge Alnashir Visram and lawyer Githu Muigai to parliament as replacements¹⁴ for Kenya's outgoing chief justice and attorney general. The president also presented his choices for Director of Public Prosecutions¹⁵ and Controller of Budget. Odinga did not challenge the qualifications of the candidates, but rather his lack of involvement in the process as mandated¹⁶ by the constitution.
Tuesday's announcment by Kibaki is also likely to satisfy those in Kenya, including the Law Society of Kenya, who questioned the suitability of Judge Vishram to lead Kenya's notoriously troubled judicial branch.
There were also those who had expressed concern over the lack of any public search or competitive process in selecting the Controller of Budget or Director of Public Prosecutions.
While the announcement Tuesday of the withdrawal of the nominations will certainly be seen as a victory for Odinga, he took a conciliatory line when addressing the media.
"I want to begin by paying tribute to President Mwai Kibaki for his courage in withdrawing the controversial nominations," Odinga said.
The prime minister called the decision a victory for cooperation, but the nominations process is far from resolved. President Kibaki promised to advertise the positions of Budget Controller and Director of Public Prosecutions through the Public Service Commission, but Odinga expressed reservations about such a course of action.
"We are conscious that the current public service commission has not been reconstituted in the context of the new constitution," he added. "As such, the interviews for the positions of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Controller of the Budget should be conducted by competent panels of renowned¹⁷ experts in the concerned fields with the Public Service Commission providing secretarial services."
Before Kenya's judicial reform process is finally resolved, both president and prime minister will engage in what are likely to be an intense series of negotiations¹⁸ over the position of Attorney General. The Judicial Service Committee will also have its hands full in selecting a Chief Justice. Current Chief Justice Evan Gicheru is required by Kenya's new constitution to vacate office by February 27, making the search for his replacement¹³ a race against time.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

11 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

12 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

13 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

14 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

15 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

17 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。