VOA标准英语2009年-Ethiopia Party, Some Opposition Groups Agr

By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
02 November 2009

Ethiopia's ruling party and three opposition¹ groups have agreed on a Code of Conduct for parliamentary elections scheduled for next May. Other opposition parties that boycotted² the Code of Conduct talks will still be bound by the rules.

Ethiopia's Communications Minister Bereket Simon says parliamentary elections will be held next May 23. The last vote in May, 2005 triggered protests that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of anti-government demonstrators and the imprisonment³ of many opposition leaders.

Bereket says a Code of Conduct to be signed Friday among the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, and three of the country's 91 opposition parties should prevent a repeat of the 2005 debacle.

"We see a culture of negotiation⁴ between the parties which is new to Ethiopia is taking place and one can say the multi-party democratic process is once again strengthened by a new discussion and negotiation process that took place between the parties," he says.

A coalition⁵ of eight other prominent opposition parties boycotted the Code of Conduct talks, saying they would be meaningless without a discussion on creating what they call a 'level playing field' for the election. The coalition, know as the Forum⁶ alleges⁷ that the government-appointed National Electoral Board is controlled by the ruling party and cannot be neutral.

Former Ethiopian President Negaso Gidada, now an independent Member of Parliament aligned⁸ with the Forum, told VOA that codes of conduct have proven ineffective in checking the ruling party's overwhelming control of the electoral machinery⁹.

Mr. Negaso says he does not believe the latest agreement will level the playing field. He points out the country had two kinds of codes of conduct in 2005 and he does not see much new in this code.

Communications Minister Bereket Simon says forum candidates will be allowed to run in the election even through their groups have not signed the conduct code. But he says they will still be bound by it.

"Signing a code of conduct is not a precondition for registering, but whether they sign it or not, this is going to be applicable for all. If they transgress¹⁰ it, it will be a transgression¹¹ of the law of the land, but they don't have to sign in order to register," he says.

The leader of one major opposition group, Hailu Shewal of the all Ethiopian Unity¹² Organization will sign the code of conduct despite deep reservations about whether it can bring about a fair election. He described negotiations¹³ on the code as 'tough but amicable¹⁴', and said he is hopeful the government will agree to changes in the staff of the national electoral board to help ensure its impartiality¹⁵.

Minister Bereket confirmed that European Union observers had been invited to monitor the election.  But he avoided answering a question about whether U.S. observers would also be invited.

Several U.S. observers were ordered out of Ethiopia before the 2005 elections.

 

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 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

3 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

4 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

5 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。

6 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

7 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

8 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

9 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

10 transgress   

vt.违反，逾越

参考例句：

• Your words must't transgress the local laws .你的言辞不能违反当地法律。
• No one is permitted to have privileges to transgress the law. 不允许任何人有超越法律的特权。

11 transgression   

n.违背；犯规；罪过

参考例句：

• The price can make an action look more like a transaction than a transgression.罚款让一个行为看起来更像是一笔交易而不是一次违法行为。
• The areas of transgression are indicated by wide spacing of the thickness contours.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。

12 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

13 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

14 amicable   

adj.和平的，友好的；友善的

参考例句：

• The two nations reached an amicable agreement.两国达成了一项友好协议。
• The two nations settled their quarrel in an amicable way.两国以和睦友好的方式解决了他们的争端。

15 impartiality   

n. 公平, 无私, 不偏

参考例句：

• He shows impartiality and detachment. 他表现得不偏不倚，超然事外。
• Impartiality is essential to a judge. 公平是当法官所必需的。