VOA常速英语2008年-Serbia's Tadic Re-Elected President by Narrow M

By Barry Wood
Belgrade
04 February 2008

Incumbent¹ president of Serbia Boris Tadic won Sunday's presidential election, defeating by a narrow margin² a pro-Russian nationalist candidate. VOA's Barry Wood reports from Belgrade.

Boris Tadic (l), 03 Feb 2008

Preliminary results give Mr. Tadic about 51 percent of the vote, compared to over 47 percent for extreme nationalist Tomislav Nikolic. The victory touched off celebrations in downtown Belgrade where Mr. Tadic appeared at his party's headquarters to thank voters for choosing a European future over isolation³.

Marko Blagojevic of Belgrade's Center for Free Elections said the turnout was higher than expected.

"Almost 68 percent of all voters have decided⁴ to cast their ballots⁵ today, which is a spectacular turnout," said Marko Blagojevic. "The turnout exceeded 4.5 million."

Nikolic conceded defeat late Sunday and congratulated Mr. Tadic on his victory.

This is the second time since 2004 that he lost to Mr. Tadic.

Nikolic's pro-Russian Radical⁶ Party is led by Vojislav Seselj who is on trial at the war crime tribunal in The Hague.

The Serbian presidency⁷ is largely ceremonial. Its most important power is control over the armed forces.

The election was closely watched in Kosovo, the secessionist province that plans to declare independence in the next few weeks. Mr. Tadic opposes independence but has said Serbia will take no military action against the NATO-led forces that maintain security in Kosovo.

Goran Svilanovic, a Tadic supporter and former foreign minister, congratulated the Serbian voters on their decision.

Svilanovic called on Serbia's nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica to resign in the wake of the election result. Even though he governs in coalition⁸ with Mr. Tadic's Democratic Party, Mr. Kostunica refused to endorse⁹ Mr. Tadic for re-election.

The prime minister wanted the president to take a stronger stance against the European Union's plan to send a police and judicial¹⁰ monitoring group to guide Kosovo towards independence.

Russia has been Serbia's principal ally on Kosovo and has blocked United Nations Security Council action to endorse its supervised independence. Populated mostly by ethnic¹¹ Albanians, Kosovo has been under UN control since 1999 when 78 days of NATO bombing forced Serbian troops out. NATO had intervened to halt Serbian excesses in dealing¹² with an ethnic Albanian insurgency¹³.

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 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。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

10 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

11 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。

12 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。

13 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网