VOA标准英语10月-Ivory Coast Officials Say Delayed Election Prepar

In the Ivory Coast officials have begun registering voters for national elections due in two months. Officials say they are working toward that deadline despite persistent¹ reports that the much-delayed vote aimed at ending the Ivorian crisis will be postponed² once again. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

Election officials in Ivory Coast say they are planning to complete preparations in time for the country to go to the polls as planned on November 30.

Independent Electoral Commission Vice³ President Fatoumata Traore Diop says voter registration⁴ is expanding since it began two weeks ago and has now reached the entire Abidjan area. She says by the end of the week, registration will be extended to other regions and will be completed in all of the country's 11,000 voting centers by the end of October.

Organizers say 50,000 officials are being trained to register the estimated nine million eligible⁵ voters. They are concentrating on younger voters, who were not eligible during the previous elections, as well as voters living abroad.

Ivorians hope the elections will help ease years of political, ethnic⁶ and regional tensions that deteriorated⁷ into civil war in 2002. Although the fighting did not last long, the country remained divided until a peace agreement last year brought northern-based rebels into the government and allowed the return of many exiled opposition⁸ leaders.

A major cause of the violence was a dispute over whether immigrants who had settled in the country decades before were entitled to Ivorian nationality.
　

A identification commission employee registers a voter during a ceremony launching new general census9 in Yamoussoukro to update country's electoral registers, 15 Sept. 2008

Diop says the biggest challenge is to make sure all those who are eligible are registered to vote. She says the only way to end the Ivorian crisis is to hold elections that are transparent¹⁰ and open to all. And this will require accurate voter registration lists and proper training for voting officials.

Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's term expired three years ago but he has remained in power because the elections were postponed several times.

Organizational delays and a lack of funds have led some leaders to call for yet another postponement¹¹. But the opposition says any further delays would require renegotiation of the peace accord.

Leaders in the international community, including France and the United Nations which provided peacekeeping troops, have said the polling should go ahead in order to restore democracy.

1 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

2 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

3 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。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

8 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。

9 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

10 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。

11 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。