2007年VOA标准英语-Vice President's Ballot Disqualification Stirs

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
16 March 2007

The Nigerian Vice¹ President Atiku Abubakar says he would contest in court his disqualification by the electoral commission. A a leading candidate for the April poll, he was excluded in the final official list. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa examines the implication of the vice president's exclusion² from the upcoming election.

 

Atiku Abubakar

Vice President Atiku Abubakar has won nearly one dozen court cases related to his candidacy over the past months, and remains³ very optimistic that he would ultimately get the court to set aside his disqualification.

 

"My reaction, it was not unexpected anyway," he said. "I will continue to challenge them in the courts. I will go up to the supreme⁴ court and if at the end of the day, if the courts indicate that I am wrongly disallowed⁵ to contest this election, any election that would have been held, which I am a party to will not stand. That is the law."

 

Opposition⁶ party, Action Congress, nominated Abubakar, but the electoral commission says the constitution bars him from running because he has been indicted⁷ for corruption⁸ by an administrative⁹ panel.

 

Supporters of Abubakar say his exclusion undermines the credibility of the poll, which would lead to the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in Nigeria's history.

 

An Abuja high court has ruled that the electoral commission has no power to disqualify candidates.

 

Emma Ezeazu, head of election watchdog Alliance for Credible¹⁰ Elections, says the electoral body's actions could compromise the integrity of upcoming elections.

 

"If they continue this way, if things are not rectified¹¹, it is clear that the outcome of the elections is not likely to be acceptable to Nigerians," she said. "Because in terms of disqualification, the courts have made it clear that INEC has no power to disqualify.

 

The presidential election is scheduled for April 21, while elections for state governors are a week earlier.

 

Election commission chairman Maurice Iwu denies the vice president's disqualification was politically motivated. He insists the constitution is very clear on persons indicted.

 

"Did anybody in his rightful mind expect that a commission that is established by law, that derives¹² its whole authority to conduct elections by the constitution, to just stand aloof¹³ and folds its arms? So, our job, as it were, is more or less like sifting¹⁴ the apples from the oranges," he said. "We don't make the apples we don't make the oranges."

 

Abubakar's exclusion has raised fears of a violent backlash. More than 10,000 people have died in uprisings since the return to civil democracy in 1999.

 

Dan Fulani Mohammed, a professor of law at the University of Abuja and an expert in defense¹⁵ and national security issues, says the implication is grave for national security.

 

"No matter how this is interpreted either by the courts or by the politicians themselves, it has national security implications," he said. "And that is what I call on our politicians to think of…free, level playing field should be provided for candidates and therefore accusations¹⁶, backdoor decisions should be removed in the interest of the Nigerian state. The logic¹⁷ is simple; we are in a competitive political terrain¹⁸. Definitely he [vice president] has his followers¹⁹, definitely he has his supporters. Anything that is political has reverberations across the entire land."

 

Nigeria, which has a population of 140 million people, is Africa's most populous²⁰ nation and its largest oil producer.

 

President Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku have ruled Nigeria since 1999 after nearly three decades of military rule. The two men fell out shortly after they were elected for a second term in 2003.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 disallowed   

v.不承认（某事物）有效( disallow的过去式和过去分词 )；不接受；不准；驳回

参考例句：

• The judge disallowed that evidence. 法官驳回那项证据。 来自辞典例句
• Her claim was disallowed on the ground(s) that she had not paid her premium. 她要求赔款遭到拒绝，原因是她事先没有交纳保险费。 来自辞典例句

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 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

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 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

10 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

11 rectified   

[医]矫正的，调整的

参考例句：

• I am hopeful this misunderstanding will be rectified very quickly. 我相信这个误会将很快得到纠正。
• That mistake could have been rectified within 28 days. 那个错误原本可以在28天内得以纠正。

12 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

14 sifting   

n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

17 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

18 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

19 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

20 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。