VOA标准英语2010年-Regional Mediator Says Ivory Coast Vot

Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo (L) and Burkina Faso's president Blaise Compaore meet at the airport in Abidjan on 22 Feb, 2010 after Campaore arrived to act as a mediator¹ in Ivory Coast's political crisis

The regional mediator for Ivory Coast's political crisis says there will be presidential elections in less than three months.

A written statement from the office of Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore says Ivory Coast's rival political factions² have agreed on a new electoral calendar with the goal of having the first round of presidential elections in late April or early May.

Prospects³ of having the vote next month collapsed⁴ 11 days ago when President Laurent Gbagbo dismissed the government and the independent electoral commission. It is the seventh time Ivory Coast's presidential election has been postponed⁵ since President Gbagbo's mandate⁶ expired in 2005.

Prime Minister Guillaume Soro is still expected to announce a new government after the two leading opposition⁷ candidates for president - former president Henri Konan Bedie and former prime minister Alassane Ouattara - agreed to a new coalition⁸ cabinet.

President Compaore says the country's electoral commission should be reconstituted later this week, allowing for work to resume on a contentious⁹ electoral list. President Gbagbo sacked the commission because he said hundreds of people were illegally allowed to register.

His political opponents say the president was trying to indefinitely delay the vote. They are calling on supporters to continue public protests until the electoral commission is restored. At least seven people have been killed in protests across the country in the last week.

This vote is meant to reunite the country after its brief 2002-2003 civil war divided Ivory Coast between north and south.

President Compaore says all sides should respect the Ouagadougou Accord which ended that fighting and made former rebel leader Soro prime minister.
 

1 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 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。

6 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

7 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。

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 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。