2007年VOA标准英语-Serbia Prepares to Vote in Parliamentary Electi

By Barry Wood
Belgrade
19 January 2007

Serbians go the polls for parliamentary elections Sunday. Voters will be choosing candidates from 20 political parties and coalitions² who are vying³ for 250 seats in parliament. VOA's Barry Wood in Belgrade reports that while three major parties are expected to win the most votes, forming a stable coalition¹ may be difficult.

A man walks past a wall covered with ripped pre-election posters in Belgrade, 19 Jan 2007

Polling data indicates that the nationalist Radical⁴ Party, the pro-European Democratic Party, and the conservative Democratic Party of Serbia will get the most votes. But no single party is expected to obtain much more than 30 percent of the vote.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica heads the Democratic Party of Serbia. His minority government has held power for three years with the tacit support of the opposition⁵ Radicals⁶ and Socialists⁷. In this campaign Mr. Kostunica has pointedly⁸ refused to rule out a future coalition with the Radicals, which some pollsters predict will be the leading vote getters.

The Radicals, whose leader is on trial in the Hague for crimes committed during the Bosnian war, oppose further cooperation with the war crimes tribunal.

Like Mr. Kostunica, the Radicals also reject any diminution⁹ of Serbia's claim to Kosovo, the United Nations administered southern province whose 90 percent ethnic¹⁰ Albanian majority demands independence.

The Democrats¹¹ of President Boris Tadic say Kosovo may have been lost when Serbian troops left the province in 1999, after NATO launched a bombing campaign in response to Serbian atrocities¹² against the Albanian population.

Boris Begovic of Belgrade's Center for Liberal Democratic Studies says it is unclear whether a stable government will result from Sunday's election.

"There is a concept of a solid stable government, which will be the government for the next three or four years. Or, there is the concept of a short-term interim¹³ government-a six-months government if you like-which will have only one task to handle and that is the future status of Kosovo," he said.

U.N. negotiators have been working nearly one year to prepare recommendations for Kosovo's future. Submission¹⁴ of their proposal - which is expected to include a call for limited independence - was delayed so that it would not dominate the Serbian election campaign. It is expected to be unveiled in the next few weeks.

James Lyon, Belgrade representative of the International Crisis Group, says that in the event of an indecisive election the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Serbia have agreed that Mr. Kostunica will stay on as caretaker prime minister.

"If that is indeed the case then Kostunica will try to form a government. But there is a very real possibility that he will be unable to form a government and that after a statutory time period [90 to 120 days] no government will be formed and they will have to hold a new election," he said.

Lyon says the prime minister and president want to buy time to force a delay in the resolution of Kosovo's status. First results in the election are expected Sunday night.

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 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

3 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 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。

6 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

7 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

8 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 diminution   

n.减少；变小

参考例句：

• They hope for a small diminution in taxes.他们希望捐税能稍有减少。
• He experienced no diminution of his physical strength.他并未感觉体力衰落。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 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。

14 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。