VOA常速英语2007年-Zimbabwe's Ruling Party Endorses President Muga

By Peta Thornycroft
13 December 2007

Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF has once again endorsed¹ President Robert Mugabe as its presidential candidate.  Peta Thornycroft reports for VOA the party met in an extraordinary congress in Harare.

There was little festivity among the approximately 10,000 ZANU-PF delegates, due to power cuts during proceedings².  Zimbabwe, which has been suffering from hyperinflation, can no longer keep up repair of electrical installations, because it has no foreign currency to import spare parts.

Now 83, President Mugabe believes he can reverse the decline and continue his present policies.  He blames the West for Zimbabwe's problems.

Zimbabwe's economy is such massive disarray³, say analysts⁴, it will take decades to repair what was once one of Africa's richest nations.

At the ZANU-PF congress in 2004, President Mugabe was re-elected party president, automatically making him the candidate in the 2008 presidential elections.

But during last year's annual party conference, there was immediate⁵ and large-scale opposition⁶ to President Mugabe's effort to change Zimbabwe's constitution to allow him to extend his term of office by two years.  Analysts say this special congress is a reaction to that defeat.

This is the first time ZANU-PF has held an extraordinary congress to acclaim⁷ a candidate, but party chairman John Nkomo says it is business as usual.

"The procedure is that we can convene⁸ a special congress, or extraordinary congress, to confirm the candidacy of our president of the party," he said.

President Mugabe's supporters are suggesting that he should become party president for life.

ZANU-PF is a divided quarreling party and analysts say that President Mugabe has always ensured there was no clear successor for his position.  There are several contenders for the leadership of the party.

Thursday, Britain's Daily Telegraph published a rare and frank interview with a powerful ZANU-PF member, Ibbo Mandaza, who is no longer loyal to President Mugabe.  Mandaza said, "99 percent of the country wants Mugabe to retire peacefully and enable Zimbabwe to move into a new era."  He said ZANU-PF has been reduced to the figurehead of one person and very far from what it stood for originally."

1 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

3 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 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。

7 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

8 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。