2007年VOA标准英语-Ukrainian Parliament, President at Odds Over La

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
04 September 2007

The Ukrainian parliament has convened¹, despite a presidential warning that the fall legislative² session is illegitimate. VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports the issue involves larger constitutional questions about Ukraine's power structure.

Viktor Yushchenko, 03 Sep 2007

The issue of legitimacy⁴ surrounding the fall legislative session in Ukraine pits the country's president against the prime minister and the speaker of parliament, also known as the Supreme⁵ Rada.

In April, President Viktor Yushchenko used his constitutional authority to dissolve parliament, after Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych tried to lure⁶ opposition⁷ lawmakers into the majority in order to force a vote of no confidence in the president.

In a nationally-televised address on the eve of the fall session, Mr. Yushchenko accused Rada members of engaging in intrigue⁸, fraud and political theater in an attempt to disrupt parliamentary elections set for September 30.

"Gentlemen of the Rada," says the Ukrainian president, "Calm down, do not abuse people's patience and do not turn the Parliament into a laughing stock". Mr. Yushchenko says he wants everyone to hear his statement, above all, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, leader of the parliamentary majority.

Mr. Yanukovych won the presidential election in 2004, but the Ukrainian Constitutional Court determined⁹ the initial vote was fraudulent. The attempt to steal the election prompted millions of Ukrainians to demand new elections in nearly of month of street demonstrations¹⁰ that came to be known as the Orange Revolution. Mr. Yushchenko won the the second, internationally monitored, election.

The Prime Minister did not attend the opening of the fall session, but his office issued a statement saying the constitution mandates¹¹ the uninterrupted work of parliament until the elections.

Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Moroz, whose Socialist¹² Party is struggling in pre-election polls, also cited the constitution as he declared the pre-election session legitimate³ and laid out plans for the coming weeks.

Speaker Moroz says he will discuss a legislative agenda and reserves time for a plenary session around September 15 to discuss a budget.

Ukrainian law mandates that the prime minister send a budget to lawmakers by September 15, which leaves very little time for parliament, legitimate or not, to discuss a national fiscal¹³ plan before elections at the end of the month.

Lawmakers voted Tuesday to deprive themselves of parliamentary immunity¹⁴. Some politicians on the left want the president to lose his immunity as well.

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Oleksandr Lytvynenko

Political analysts¹⁶ Oleksandr Lytvynenko says the current struggle over parliamentary legitimacy stems from a flaw in the constitution, which does not clearly delineate authority between the president, prime minister, and parliament.

Lytvynenko says various political circles want to review the constitution in order to return some powers to the presidency¹⁷, giving the office more centralized, and coordinating¹⁸ authority. But he says, there are radical¹⁹ voices led by Communists to abolish the presidency altogether.

Lytvynenko adds that the constitutional power structure in Ukraine pleases no one. The analyst says it remains²⁰ to be seen whether the country will amend²¹ its supreme law through a referendum, which President Yushchenko supports, or by a vote in Parliament. Lytvynenko expects the political struggle over this issue to be fierce.

1 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

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 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

4 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

5 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。

6 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

7 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。

8 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

12 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

13 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

14 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 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。

17 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

18 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

19 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

20 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。

21 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。