VOA慢速英语2018--柬埔寨成为一党专政国家

 Cambodia Set to Become One Party State

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) says it has won every seat in the country’s parliament.

The party released the statement after national elections on Sunday. The results would effectively make Cambodia a one-party state.

The CPP said it now controls all 125 seats in the National Assembly. But rights groups say the election results are misleading because the main opposition¹ party was banned.

Sok Eysan is a spokesman for the CPP. He said he could not confirm the official vote count, “but I can say that the CPP will get most of the seats at the National Assembly.”

“The result of the election shows that there is a progression of democracy in Cambodia, as people used their right to decide the future of the country,” he said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is now set to extend his already 33 year rule by another five years.

Nineteen minor² parties took part in the election. They won only a small percentage of the vote.

Information released Monday by the National Election Committee (NEC) also suggests the CPP will win every assembly seat. The committee says more than 6.8 million registered voters marked ballots³. There were almost 600,000 invalid⁴ ballots. The Associated Press news agency reports that they appeared to be cast as protests by voters who wished to keep their identities secret.

The CPP’s only real opponent in the election, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was dissolved late last year. Its leader Kem Sokha was put in jail. He was accused of inciting⁵ an internationally supported plot to overthrow⁶ the government.

In reaction, the CNRP launched what it called a “clean finger” campaign, urging voters to boycott⁷ the general elections.

Hun Sen’s government threatened criminal action against supporters of the campaign. The government also threatened action against Cambodian citizens if they chose to not vote.

Criticism of the elections came from Western governments and other groups.

The United States called the vote neither “free nor fair.” The U.S. government said it would consider punitive⁸ measures, including an expansion of visa restrictions⁹ on top Cambodian government officials.

In a statement, the White House office of the Press Secretary said, “We are profoundly disappointed in the government’s choice to disenfranchise millions of voters, who are rightly proud of their country’s development over the past 25 years.” The statement went on to say that the campaign was marked by threats from national and local leaders to punish those choosing not to vote.

Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop¹⁰, also questioned the election results. In a statement, she said that Hun Sen’s actions to remove his political opponents have cancelled more than 25 years of progress toward democracy.

Australia, the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan all said they had no plans to send representatives to observe the voting.

The national election commission said it would announce full totals on August 11. The official results will be released on August 15.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

disenfranchise – v. to prevent a person or group of people from having the right to vote

punitive – adj. intended to punish someone or something

proud – adj. very pleased because of something you have done

dissolved – v. dismissed

cast – v. to send something in the direction of someone or something; to throw or move

invalid – adj. having no effect

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 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 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》

4 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。

5 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

6 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

7 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

8 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。