2006年VOA标准英语-Museveni Wins Ugandan Poll, Extends 20-Yea

By VOA News
Kampala, Uganda
25 February 2006

 
Police and opposition¹ supporters clashed in Kampala 
  
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has extended his 20-year rule, beating his chief rival, Kizza Besigye, by a wide margin² -- according to election results, about 60 percent to 36 percent. Opposition groups and international observers are saying the election process was fraught³ with irregularities.

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This was the scene on a main boulevard south of Kampala's city center, as the results of the country's election were being announced. Hundreds of people, mainly young men who support Besigye, chanted, "Museveni, go back to your cattle." Hundreds of police in full riot gear looked on.

Elsewhere in Kampala, the mood was relatively⁴ quiet. Many businesses remained closed, fearing post-election riots.

Besigye says the election was flawed, and vowed⁵ to challenge final election results in court. It was his second attempt to unseat Mr. Museveni. His 2001 presidential bid failed.

Roger Ziwa, 25, is a taxi driver, who joined the street protest. He says that, like him, many Ugandans have not faired well under Mr. Museveni and his ruling party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

"People [here], they are in poverty. These people in the Movement, they are looking after their own selves. But these people, they are in poverty," he said.

Ugandan President Museveni at campaign rally  
  
Still, the majority of Ugandans want to keep Mr. Museveni in power, at least for another five-year term. His supporters, and also, many of his critics, credit Mr. Museveni with putting the country on even keel, after decades of chaos⁶ and brutal⁷ repression⁸ by former dictators Idi Amin and Milton Obote.

In Uganda, a country that has never had a peaceful transition of power, most Ugandans were reluctant to vote for change.

Moses Kizige is the top organizer for Mr. Museveni's re-election campaign. In an interview at the ruling party's campaign headquarters, Kizige waved off concerns of the international community about Mr. Museveni's bid to extend his 20-year rule. He says Ugandans should have the right to vote for the best man for the country's top job, even it that means risking the goodwill⁹ of the international community.

"Well, the risks have paid off. And, the people of Uganda and the international community should not be surprised in the case that we choose to field President Museveni for yet another term," Kizige said.

Opposition parties, as well as international and local election observers, cited many incidents of voting irregularities, but it is unclear whether the irregularities are widespread enough to annul¹⁰ the presidential election results.

The United States said claims of fraud must be investigated.

At this point, most Ugandans are hoping that legal challenges to the election results by opposition parties will be handled in the courts, not on the streets.

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 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

9 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

10 annul   

v.宣告…无效，取消，废止

参考例句：

• They have the power to alter or annul inappropriate decisions of their own standing committees.他们有权改变或者撤销本级人民代表大会常务委员会不适当的决定。
• The courts later found grounds to annul the results,after the king urged them to sort out the "mess".在国王敦促法庭收拾烂摊子后，法庭随后宣布废除选举结果。