VOA慢速英语--津巴布韦反对党:7月30日选举困难重重

Zimbabwe's Opposition¹: July 30 Vote at Risk

The world’s oldest person lives in Zimbabwe and is 141 years old. Not far behind is a 134-year-old, also from Zimbabwe.

So says the country’s voters’ registration² list, which has come under sharp criticism before the July 30 elections.

This will be the first election in many years without longtime leader Robert Mugabe. He served as Zimbabwe’s president from 1987 until last year. Before that, Mugabe was prime minister -- a position he held from 1980 to 1987.

The main opposition party has called the voters’ list flawed and the clearest sign that the election’s credibility is at risk.

On Wednesday, thousands of people demonstrated in the capital, Harare. They called for more openness in the voting. The protesters danced and waved signs saying “No reforms, no elections.”

Mugabe was pressured to step down when Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in November of 2017. The new president and the election committee have promised a free and fair election. But the issues with the voters’ list have many people worried that the government is unable to end a long history of suspected cheating in elections.

The strikingly old voters are just one concern. The voters’ list shows more than 100 people registered at the same property and more than one person sharing an identification number. The Associated Press says that information comes from James Timba, the chief election agent for the main political opposition.

“We are not going to compromise,” main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa told the crowd on Wednesday. He accused the election commission, the military and Mnangagwa of trying to influence the vote.

Chamisa is in a coalition³ with smaller parties that also took part in the protest. They gave a petition with their demands to a representative of the election commission.

“Next time we hold a demonstration⁴, no one is going back home until our demands are met. We will camp here,” Chamisa said.

The opposition distrusts the production of ballots⁶, their storage, design and even the quality of the paper.

Public trust in the election is so low that the opposition now tells people to bring their own writing instruments when they vote because they lack trust in the ones being provided.

Emmerson Mnangagwa is a longtime ally of Mugabe. The new president is under pressure to have a free and fair election as a way to end international sanctions.

Accusations⁷ of cheating and violence were a problem in Zimbabwe’s earlier elections. Mugabe banned Western election observers, but Mnangagwa has welcomed them for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Observers from the European Union and United States have raised concerns that are similar to the opposition’s claims. But the election campaign has been largely free of violence.

Mnangagwa, his ruling ZANU-PF party and the election commission are defending the credibility of the vote. Commission chairwoman Priscilla Chigumba has rejected the opposition demands, which include touching⁸ the ballot⁵ paper or looking at it closely. Party representatives were permitted to see the ballots being made from a distance last month, she said.

Political parties physically⁹ inspecting the ballot paper is unlawful, Chigumba, a former High Court judge, told reporters on Monday. She said the opposition’s demands are “an abuse of the right to transparency.”

She also has denied problems with the voters’ registration list, which was released to opposition parties and the public only after pressure and a court ruling.

Elections officials have said they will correct mistakes with the voters’ list. The story of the single property with more than 100 registered voters is, in fact, a religious center with 122 voters, Chigumba said.

Building public trust in the weeks before the vote will be difficult. A study released over the weekend found that 58 percent of registered voters do not trust the elections commission. Researchers spoke¹⁰ with more than 1,600 people from Bulawayo, an opposition center, and Midlands province, which has a mix of opposition and ruling party supporters.

While Mugabe is gone, “the regime remains,” said Munyaradzi Gwisai, a political expert who teaches law at the University of Zimbabwe. He added, “If anything, the hard men and hard women of that regime are the ones who have taken power and they are now in charge, so very little has changed.”

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

flaw – n. a small fault or weakness

credibility – n. the quality of being believed or accepted as true, real, or honest

petition – n. a written document that people sign to show that they want a person or organization to do or change something

sanction – n. an action to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country

transparent¹¹ – adj. honest and open; not secretive

regime – n. a form of government

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 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

3 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。

4 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 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。