VOA标准英语2010年-Another Delay Possible in Guinea Run-O

Guinea could miss a proposed October 10th poll date for its presidential run-off, thanks to candidate disputes.

As Guineans remember the more than 150 people killed one year ago in a military attack on an opposition¹ protest in Conakry, the country continues to struggle to emerge from almost two years of political crisis.

Guinea is in the middle of a landmark² presidential poll meant to return the country to civilian³ government after a military coup⁴ in December 2008.

Electoral dispute

The first round was held on June 27, but efforts to organize a run-off between the two top-scoring candidates have stalled, due to fraud accusations⁵, street violence, and most recently disagreement over the newly appointed electoral-commission head.

Presidential candidate, Cellou Dallein Diallo, protested the naming of Louceny Camara as head of the electoral commission last week, saying Camara supports rival candidate, Alpha Conde. Guinea's interim⁶ president has therefore not been able to confirm an October 10th poll date, proposed by the electoral commission.

Examine the situation

The head of Guinea's National Transition Council, Hadja Rabiatou Sera Diallo, met with members of government Monday in Conakry to discuss the situation.

Diallo says they examined the internal rules of the electoral commission, the country's electoral code and the constitution, and prepared an assessment⁷ and recommendations to get the country out of crisis. She says they will present this analysis to interim president, General Sekouba Konate. The final decision, she says, belongs to him.

The proposal prepared during Monday's meeting was not made public.

Diallo has also met with both candidates in the hopes of mediating⁸ the disagreement.

Find a way to resolve crisis

She says on Monday, she and members of government were not discussing how to organize elections, but rather how to get Guinea out of crisis. She says they were not motivated by color, race or political affiliation⁹. She says it is Guinea that concerns them, and therefore she says they can not be part of any efforts to slow down the electoral process that must move forward.

The run-off was originally set for September 19, but was postponed¹⁰ just days before the vote, partly for technical reasons. Campaigning had been suspended two days earlier, after street violence between the two candidates' supporters left one dead and 50 wounded. The violence followed the conviction of two senior Guinea electoral officials for fraud during the first round of voting.
 

1 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。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 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。

4 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。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 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。

7 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？

8 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

9 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

10 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。