2007年VOA标准英语-Pakistan's Presidential Elections Scheduled for

By Daniel Schearf
Islamabad
20 September 2007

Pakistan's Election Commission says the presidential election will take place on October 6, despite legal challenges to President Pervez Musharraf's re-election bid.  The decision prompted threats of resignation by opposition¹ politicians, and even an expression of concern from the visiting head the British Commonwealth². Daniel Schearf reports from Islamabad.

Thursday's announcement by the Election Commission, whose head was appointed by Mr. Musharraf, ignores several petitions currently before the Supreme³ Court challenging his eligibility⁴ to seek re-election.

Opponents have argued that the president is forbidden by law to hold high military position. Mr. Musharraf, who is also head of the army, has been under increasing domestic and international pressure to give up his military post and move the country toward full democratic rule.

He has announced that he will retire from that post if he wins re-election to the presidency⁵ - but not before.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed is the leader of the MMA, one of the political groups challenging Mr. Musharraf's candidacy in court. He argues Mr. Musharraf has already served the two terms allowed a president- once when he declared himself president after leading a 1999 military coup⁶, and later when his declaration was made legitimate⁷ through a referendum.

Ahmed says since Mr. Musharraf has already served two terms in office, the constitution says he cannot serve another.  He says if Mr. Musharraf is allowed to run, opposition party legislators will resign, and will take to the streets in a nationwide protest.

Pakistan's constitution also bans all public servants, including military officers, from running for office until two years after they retire.

However, the Election Commission on Monday exempted⁸ the president from that constitutional requirement in advance.  That sparked charges that the commission had overstepped its mandate⁹, and usurped¹⁰ powers that belong to the courts.

Don McKinnon is the secretary-general of the British Commonwealth, the association of former British colonies. He told a press briefing in Islamabad Thursday that he welcomed Mr. Musharraf's plan to retire as chief of the military, but he warned that Pakistan faced a critical period in the next four months.

"We would only encourage at this time for all these processes to go as smoothly¹¹ as possible, for people to recognize the rule of law, for people to recognize the right for all parties to contest the election, for people to recognize the supremacy¹² and role of the Supreme Court, the independence of the court, and to recognize the fact that when elections are held, the whole world will be watching," McKinnon said.

Mr. Musharraf has promised free and fair elections. However, he appears to be taking steps to eliminate any opposition to his continued rule.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could return to Pakistan from exile.  But shortly after Mr. Sharif's arrival, Mr. Musharraf had him deported¹³.

Opponents argue that the presidential election should take place after parliamentary elections, to ensure that the president, who is selected by an electoral college made up of legislators, has more legitimacy¹⁴.

If the election now goes through as planned on October 6, the president will be chosen by a parliament that may not exist in a few months' time. 
 

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 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

3 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。

4 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 exempted   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His bad eyesight exempted him from military service. 他因视力不好而免服兵役。
• Her illness exempted her from the examination. 她因病而免试。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 usurped   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• That magazine usurped copyrighted material. 那杂志盗用了版权为他人所有的素材。
• The expression'social engineering'has been usurped by the Utopianist without a shadow of light. “社会工程”这个词已被乌托邦主义者毫无理由地盗用了。

11 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

12 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

13 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。