Indonesians voted Thursday in legislative elections across the vast nation of islands. Results are not yet in, but opinion polls show President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party may be the big winner.
印度尼西亚今天在全国范围举行这一幅元辽阔的岛国的国会选举。选举结果还没有宣布，不过民调显示，总统苏西洛.尤多约诺的民主党可能会胜出，成为大赢家。
People crowded in front of polling stations, early Thursday, to cast their votes for local and national lawmakers.
星期四一大早，印度尼西亚选民聚集在投票站前，准备选举地方和全国的国会议员。
As election organizers announced the start of voting at a station in the capital, Jakarta, lines were formed and names called.
当选举官员在首都雅加达的一个投票站宣布开始投票时，人们一边排起队，一边在咒骂着。
Some complain ballots are too big
The orderly process masked the challenges and criticism Indonesia has faced in organizing these massive elections.
井井有条的投票背后掩盖了印尼在组织这场大规模选举中所面对的挑战和批评。
The only signs of problems were the many voters who needed help to fold their beach-towel-sized ballots and push them through the skinny slots in metal voting boxes.
不过，现在唯一出现的问题是，很多选民需要得到帮助，把那些像海滩毛巾一样大的选票折叠起来，塞进金属制投票箱的窄小箱口里。
Lwan Sukawana, 44, voiced his complaint about the election.
44岁的选民苏卡瓦纳表达了对选举的不满。
He says it is a bit more difficult for him. He says, in the past, he only chose among a few candidates, but today there are so many options and he has to make too many marks on the ballot.
他说，这对他来说有些困难，过去他在不多的几名候选人当中进行挑选，但是今天有那么多候选人，他不得不在选票上打上很多记号。
Indonesia is the world's third largest democracy, after India and the United States.
About 170-million people are eligible to vote for their choices among tens of thousands of candidates.
有大约1亿7千万名合格选民，他们需要在成千上万的候选人当中做出选择。
Polls favor president
Opinion polls indicate the Democratic party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to win the most votes, increasing its base of support.
民调显示，苏西洛.尤多约诺总统的民主党预计将赢得多数选票，扩大其支持者的阵营。
This is only the third legislative election since the 1998 fall of Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for more than 30 years, before the economy collapsed.
自从1998年苏哈托下台以来，这是印尼的第三次国会选举。苏哈托统治印尼30多年后经济出现崩溃。
Indonesia is now Southeast Asia's biggest economy. However, many Indonesians still live in poverty.
印尼现在是东南亚最大的经济体，但是很多印尼人仍然生活贫困。
Like other Indonesians voting Thursday, Heriyadi Kurniawan will not say who he voted for, but does say what he wants his vote to accomplish.
星期四前去投票的库尼阿万和其他选民一样，不肯说明他投了谁的票，不过他却说明了他希望他投下的那一票起到什么作用。
He says he hopes his vote can make a difference for average people, so they can at least have basic education and health care. He says this is most important for Indonesia because education is still expensive.
他说，他希望他投下的一票能够为普通老百姓产生影响，使得他们至少得到基本的教育与医疗。他说，这对印尼来说特别重要，因为教育费用仍然很昂贵。
Violence marred campaign
Campaigning for the elections was marred by what analysts say were politically-motivated assassinations in restive Aceh province. Authorities in Papua say attacks by rebels left six people dead, before voting stations opened, Thursday.
分析人士把动乱的亚齐省发生的暴力称作政治谋杀，这给竞选造成损害。帕普当局说，在星期四投票站开门前，反叛分子在发动的攻击中杀死了6人。
Concerns about violence, vote-rigging and vote-buying were largely forgotten by the time Indonesians cast their votes.
当印尼选民投票之际，对暴力、舞弊和贿选的关注基本上被人们抛在脑后。
But new election rules have raised the threshold for winning legislative seats and fielding a candidate for the more-important presidential election in July.
不过，新的选举规则提高了候选人赢得议员席位的门槛，并将决定一名候选人在更重要的7月份总统大选中所处的地位。
Those political parties that are just under the required number of votes could contest elections, possibly delaying official results and the presidential election.
在这次选举中获得的选票差一点不够选票数量要求的政党恐怕会展开较量，这有可能推迟官方公布的选举结果以及总统大选。 |