2007年VOA标准英语-US Says Contested Turkmenistan Election a Modes

By David Gollust
State Department
15 February 2007

The United States Thursday expressed cautious hope that this week's election in Turkmenistan will be a step toward democracy, even though the new president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, won with nearly 90 percent of the vote. A senior U.S. diplomat¹ attended Wednesday's inauguration² ceremonies in Ashgabat. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

 
Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov addresses the nation in Ashgabat, 14 Feb 2007
Officials here do not contest the view of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that the Turkmenistan election was neither free nor fair.

But they say fact that the energy-rich country had a contested election for the first time since its independence in 1991, and that Mr. Berdimuhammedov's stated vote margin³ was smaller than those claimed by his predecessor⁴, are signs of possible progress after years of stifling⁵ one-man rule.

Mr. Berdimuhammedov was sworn into office Wednesday, three days after getting what officials said was nearly 90 percent of the vote in a six-candidate election to succeed the late dictator Saparmurat Niyazov , who died of heart attack in December.

The voter turnout was said to have been 99 percent, a figure Western diplomats⁶ said was implausible.

 
Sean McCormack
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said the election process represents a modest step toward political and electoral change in Turkmenistan that he said could create future conditions for free, fair and truly competitive elections that do meet international standards.

He welcomed the decision by Turkmen authorities to field multiple candidates, and said the United States will encourage the Ashgabat government to follow up with what he termed the essential first steps toward establishing a more transparent⁷ and open society.

McCormack said under questioning the United States intends to engage the new government despite the election shortcomings, and that this week's events should be seen in the context of Turkmenistan's emergence⁸ from one of the world's most rigid⁹ dictatorships.

"We are ready to engage this new government," he said. "As I pointed¹⁰ out, we view this as a modest first step. But let's also remember that this is a country that is emerging from the shadows -- only three months out -- from a cult-of-personality dictatorship. So they are making the first baby steps beyond that."

"So I think that we have offered a sober assessment¹¹ of this electoral process. We encourage further such steps and we are going to engage with the government to offer that encouragement," he added.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher attended the inaugural¹² ceremonies, and met with senior government officials.

Spokesman McCormack, defending the hopeful U.S. view of the events in Turkmenistan, said it is not realistic to expect an overnight conversion¹³ from a closed society to democracy, and that there is no single model for democratic transition for every country.

An exiled Turkmen opposition¹⁴ figure in Sweden, Khudaiberdy Orazov, was less optimistic. He said the electoral process amounted to a coup¹⁵, and that the junta¹⁶ which staged it is simply consolidating¹⁷ its control.

Orazov, a former chairman of Turkmenistan's central bank, was chosen by the exiled opposition to be its presidential candidate but he was barred from returning home.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

3 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。

4 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

5 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

9 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 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？

12 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

13 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

14 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。

15 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。

16 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

17 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网