VOA标准英语2010年-Burkina's Compaoré Wins by Landslide

Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré won a landslide¹ victory in the country's presidential poll, according to provisional results announced Thursday. Four opposition² candidates are now contesting those results and calling for the president of the electoral commission to resign.
Burkina Faso's electoral commission announced provisional results Thursday for the November 21 presidential poll.
Electoral commission president, Moussa Michel Tapsoba, says provisional results show Mr. Compaoré winning 80 percent of votes. Opposition frontrunners, Arba Diallo and Bénéwendé Sankara, followed with eight and six percent of votes respectively.
Diallo and Sankara, along with two other opposition candidates, say they are contesting provisional results, citing irregularities.
On Thursday, a judge upheld a complaint filed before the vote by four opposition candidates, who had argued that voter cards did not conform to the electoral code and were therefore invalid³ and could lead to fraud. The court ruled that some voter cards did not contain all the required information, specifically place of birth.
Opposition leader, Sankara, had refused to vote last Sunday in protest of the fraudulent cards.
Sankara says they are calling for the president of the electoral commission to resign immediately and without condition. He says they are calling for a new electoral commission to be put in place to redo this presidential poll in the hopes that the law will be respected.
Mr. Compaoré's campaign did not express concern over the legal disputes.
Mr. Compaoré's campaign director, Assimi Kouanda, says Burkinabe have once again demonstrated their attachment⁴ to democracy, freedom and Mr. Compaore. He says we are naturally very satisfied with these results.
Mr. Compaoré has been in power since a 1987 coup⁵ and won the last election in 2005 with 80 percent of the votes.
Analysts⁶ say Mr. Compaoré has brought stability to the poor, landlocked West African country which has experienced five coups⁷ since independence in 1960.
Independent candidate, Maxime Kaboré, says he is not contesting results.
Kaboré says those who are contesting are sore losers. He says there were certain shortcomings that need to be improved upon, but the election was transparent⁸ overall. He says he can understand that voters would want to keep the same president and preserve continuity, so long as there is peace.
Burkinabe voters said this election held little suspense⁹ for them. The electoral commission announced Thursday that just over half of Burkina Faso's 3.2 million registered voters went to the polls.
Mr. Compaoré's party is seeking to abolish constitutional term limits for the presidency¹⁰. According to the current limit of two five-year terms that was put in place in 2002, this election would be his last.
Burkina Faso's constitutional court has one week to review complaints and confirm results of the poll.

1 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

2 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。

3 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

4 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

5 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。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

10 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。