VOA常速英语2007年-South Africa's Zuma Leads Race for ANC Presiden

By Delia Robertson
Johannesburg
26 November 2007

Former South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma has romped¹ ahead of President Thabo Mbeki in the race for the leadership of the ruling African National Congress party. However, as VOA's Delia Robertson reports from our bureau in Johannesburg, the outcome at next month's national conference is still not a foregone conclusion.

Mr. Mbeki has won in four of nine regions and Mr. Zuma in the other five, but the number of individual votes paints a truer picture. Mr. Zuma won some two-thirds of the 3,600 votes. Steven Friedman, visiting professor of politics at Rhodes University, told VOA the weekend's ANC provincial² general council meetings have, for the first time, taken the assessment³ of Mr. Zuma's support out of the realm of speculation⁴.

"Well it is important in the sense that it's the first time that we have hard evidence of how ANC delegates might vote in a secret ballot," he said. "And that takes us a lot further forward than the speculation and gossip that we have been hearing over the last while or so. It clearly indicates a very significant lead for Jacob Zuma."

The likelihood now is that Mr. Zuma will be elected president of the African National Congress at next month's national conference in Polokwane, Limpopo Province - thereby⁵ placing himself firmly in the running to become president of South Africa.

However, it is not quite as simple as it seems. The ANC has a complicated electoral system and a number of the delegates who voted at the provincial conferences will not be in Limpopo next month. Also, nominations⁶ are allowed from the floor, once the conference gets under way.

In addition, ANC members are fearful that divisions already caused by the bitter battle for supremacy⁷ will become irreversible unless a compromise is reached before the vote takes place. Friedman says the compromise may be the so-called "third way" - choosing neither Mr. Zuma nor Mr. Mbeki but someone else both groups can live with.

"The bargaining chip which the Mbeki camp would have in this situation would be that Jacob Zuma could still be charged with corruption⁸," he said. "So it is not impossible that Mr. Mbeki and his supporters might say, well look do we really want to - even if you're ahead significantly here - do we really want to elect somebody who may well spend six months in a court case, the outcome of which is uncertain."

The ANC candidate for president of the country will be formally decided⁹ in the run-up to the next general election in 2009. If Mr. Zuma is to be that candidate, a great deal will depend on whether the national prosecuting¹⁰ authority decides it has sufficient evidence to reinstate corruption charges against him.

1 romped   

v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在赛跑或竞选等中）轻易获胜

参考例句：

• Children romped on the playground. 孩子们在操场上嬉笑玩闹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• John romped home well ahead of all the other runners. 约翰赛马跑时轻而易举地战胜了所有的选手。 来自辞典例句

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 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？

4 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。

5 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

6 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

7 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 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。

10 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。