VOA标准英语2008年-Angola Extends Legislative Balloting at Some Po

In Angola, voting has been extended for another day at some polling centers after thousands of voters were prevented from casting their ballots² in Friday's parliamentary elections. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from Luanda.

Angola's Electoral Commission re-opened several hundred polling places Saturday to allow all voters the opportunity to cast their ballots for the next national assembly.

Many polling centers, especially on the outskirts³ of Luanda, opened hours late Friday because of a lack of ballot¹ papers, registration⁴ lists or other materials.

Most of these had opened by midday, but toward the end of the day some centers ran out of ballot papers causing anger among voters who had waited all day to vote.

The head of the opposition⁵ Union for the Total Independence of Angola, Isaias Samakuva, called for a re-run.

Samakuva says this is unacceptable. He says here in the capital, we heard statements that everything was ready but in reality what we are seeing is unacceptable.

The head of the European Observer group, Luisa Morgantini, said the elections were peaceful.

She says the problem in Luanda was that in various locations there was confusion and a lack of organization.

For most Angolans, however, the vote went smoothly⁶. Millions turned out early and in large numbers in the country's first elections in 16 years.

The country's first multiparty elections, in 1992, were canceled following the first round after UNITA withdrew accusing the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, MPLA, of fraud.

The Angolan civil war resumed and ended only ten years later after the death of UNITA founder⁷ Jonas Savimbi.

The head of the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute that supports pro-democracy groups in Angola, Isabel Emerson, attributes some of the problems to the delays in announcing the electoral calendar.

"Reflecting on what happened this time it would be important to invest more in terms of the voter education campaign. I think this time it started late and it [there] wasn't enough information," said Emerson.

She says even some polling officials were not aware of all the electoral procedures.

The government registered more than eight million voters in a massive drive that extended into the remote corners of the country.

More than five thousand candidates from 14 parties competed for the 220 seats in the national assembly. Each party was given air-time on state-owned broadcasting media to present its platform.

But opposition parties and some human rights organizations accused the government of using patronage⁸ and its influence over the media to favor the ruling party.

The electoral commission has promised to issue election results by next week.

1 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。

2 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》

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

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 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。

6 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。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 patronage   

n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场

参考例句：

• Though it was not yet noon,there was considerable patronage.虽然时间未到中午，店中已有许多顾客惠顾。
• I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this.很抱歉，我的赞助只能到此为止。