VOA标准英语21013--塔吉克斯坦选举总统的二十年规划

（单词翻译）

Tajikistan Election to Extend President's Two-decade Rule 塔吉克斯坦选举总统的二十年规划

The tightly-controlled Central Asian country of Tajikistan is holding a presidential vote on Wednesday.  The election is expected to extend the rule of longtime Russian-backed leader Emomali Rakhmon for another seven years.

Observers say the election in Tajikistan will be an election in name only. The only real opposition¹ candidate, human rights activist² Oynihol Bobonazarova, has been barred from the race on the grounds that she has failed to collect the required signatures of 5 percent of the nation's eligible³ voters.  Bobonazarova claims the situation in the country is dismal⁴.

"First of all, the economy is in a dire⁵ state. Secondly⁶, human rights, especially freedom of speech, religion and others, are totally impossible to exercise now," said Bobonazarova.

More than 90 percent of Tajiks are Muslim.

Bobonazarova thinks the restriction⁷ of freedoms in Tajikistan could lead to Islamist radicalism⁹. 

"It is very bad, you know. We, the people, we say the changes in the state system must be made through elections, we respect the law. But the society already demands other, more radical⁸ people. So if we are replaced by radicals¹⁰, the state is to blame,” said Bobonazarova.

Moscow-backed incumbent¹¹ Emomali Rakhmon has ruled the former Soviet¹² republic since 1992. His government has maintained tight control over mosques¹³ and religious education in Tajikistan in an attempt to prevent radicalism. 

Russia has backed his faction¹⁴ against a loose coalition¹⁵ of Islamists, nationalist and democratic groups.  Western monitors said the last election seven years ago lacked any genuine competition, but many Tajiks don't seem to mind.

"I think our president is the best candidate, because he has vast experience and he has really done a lot for the country.  I will vote for him," said Eradz Asadullayev, a shop assistant.

Tajikistan's economy, based primarily on cotton and aluminum¹⁶, nearly collapsed¹⁷ during a civil war following the break up of the Soviet Union. Even though the economy has been growing in recent years, Tajikistan remains¹⁸ the poorest country in Central Asia. Many Tajiks work abroad; remittances¹⁹ account for almost half of the country's GDP. According to the World Bank, Tajikistan is the world's most remittance-dependent economy.

Most Tajik migrants work in Russia, making the country's economy dependant²⁰ on its bigger neighbor. Moscow has used deportations of Tajik migrant workers and threats to tighten entry rules as clout²¹ over the Tajik government.