2007年VOA标准英语-Congo Court Throws Out Appeal to Cancel Electio

By Franz Wild
Brazzaville
22 June 2007

Congo's top court has thrown out an appeal by an opposition¹ alliance to cancel Sunday's legislative² elections, clearing the way for a ruling party victory.  As Franz Wild reports for VOA from Brazzaville, voters are taking little interest in the ballot³.

Election posters are pictured on a board in Kinkala, Congo, 24 June 2007

The constitutional court ruled Friday it could not deal with the appeal by an opposition alliance to cancel the elections, because those bringing the case are not candidates.

In fact, the group of 41 parties and opposition groups is boycotting⁴ the vote, because it says it will not be free and fair.

The lawyer for the alliance, Hervé Malonga, told reporters outside the courtroom that the results of the election are a foregone conclusion.

Malonga says the elections are the death of democracy in Congo.  He says the opposition group needs the support of the international community in dealing⁵ with the lack of democracy.

The main complaints are that President Denis Sassou-Nguesso's party controls the election process, and inaccurate⁶ lists of registered voters have not been corrected.

The government denies the allegations, saying an independent commission is running the elections. The commission says it treats all candidates equally.

Western diplomats⁷ say voters have little faith in the election process and have lost interest in the election.

In a pact⁸ with the oil-rich country's second largest party, Mr. Sassou-Nguesso is set to strengthen his parliamentary majority.

1 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。

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

4 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

7 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》

8 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。