2006年VOA标准英语-Turkmenistan Sets February 11 for New President

By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
26 December 2006

Turkmenistan's top legislative¹ body says a presidential election will be held on February 11 to select a successor to longtime authoritarian² leader Saparmurat Niyazov, who died last week. The People's Council will also select candidates for the election, amid opposition³ protests. Bill Gasperini has more for VOA from Moscow.

The date was decided⁴ during an extraordinary gathering⁵ of the People's Council, which is made up of 2,500 members including tribal⁶ and clan⁷ leaders from around the former Soviet⁸ republic.

Turkmenistan Deputy Prime Minister Gurbangaly Berdymukhamedov (24 Dec 2006)

Acting⁹ President Gurbungali Berdymukhamedov had earlier announced that the election will be held "on a democratic basis laid by the great leader", a reference to the late Saparmurat Niyazov.

The 66-year-old former Communist boss died last week of a heart attack after ruling the mostly desert nation for over 20 years.

The eccentric leader established an extraordinary personality cult¹⁰ around himself and ruthlessly suppressed an opposition.

And there was little sign during Tuesday's council meeting that much had changed.

Turkmen opposition figures who have long lived in exile say they intend to return and want to field their own candidate.

However none has been able to cross the border into Turkmenistan so far.

Turkmenistan has only one legal political party and Acting President Berdymukhamedov is seen as likely to win the February vote.

He has long served as deputy prime minister. But within hours of Mr. Niyazov's death, Mr. Berdymukhamedov announced he would become acting president even though the constitution states the parliament speaker should do that.

Instead, the parliament speaker has had a criminal case opened against him, giving rise to speculation¹¹ of an internal power struggle in the isolated¹² nation of five million.

Dzhmurad Kyamov, who works with the Organization for Human Rights of the Turkmen People, says change can only come if outside powers such as the United States, European nations or even Russia put pressure on the current leadership.

The stakes are high given that Turkmenistan has vast reserves of oil and especially natural gas.

The country also has a strategic position in Central Asia, sharing borders both with Iran and Afghanistan.

1 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。

2 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

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 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。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

11 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

12 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。