Iraqi Elections to Be Held January 30

 

By Greg LaMotte
Iraqis are scheduled to vote January 30 to elect national assemblies. The official announcement was made following the successful military effort to oust¹ insurgents² from the Sunni Muslim city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad.
Announcement of the national elections was made by Iraq's election commission. Voters will go to the polls January 30 to elect a 275-seat national assembly.
The assembly will draft a new constitution for Iraq and, later in the year, voters will return to the polls to decide whether to approve it. If approved, there will be a second general election to be held by the end of 2005.
News of the election date being set seemed to please many Iraqis who say they look forward to change. A 30-year-old mother, Khalood al-Zayadi, who works at an Iraqi newspaper says she is one of them.
"Everyone in Iraq want the election, to do it on time. And, we want those elections because maybe many things change. Maybe the government change. Maybe the leader of Iraq change. Maybe laws of Iraq will change. Many, many things will be changed," she said.
According to Iraqi merchant Mohammed Salam Yanni, January 30 will be the day Iraqis get to speak for themselves.
"We wish for it to be 30 of January. And, we will go to cooperate with our government and to do what we need, what we want to do, and what we wish," said Mr. Yanni.
Not all Iraqis are in favor of holding the elections in January. There are many Sunni Muslim Iraqis who say they plan to boycott³ the elections because of fear of violence in their communities, or to protest the U.S. presence in Iraq.
In that regard, U.S. and Iraqi troops continued their clean-up of the once-rebellious city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, as part of the effort to clear the way for Januarys elections.
Military officials in Iraq said nearly 1,500 people in the Fallujah area were detained during the almost two-week military offensive to rid the city of insurgents. Efforts are now focusing on maintaining peace in the city where the dominant⁴ population is Sunni Muslim.
A senior official with Iraq's Interior Ministry⁵ said the operation in Fallujah was, as he put it, "completely successful and all but over."
However, American and Iraqi troops have been forced to deal with trouble spots in other parts of the country, where insurgents have been waging battle, including Baghdad. Saturday a total of nine people were killed in a series of attacks throughout the city.
Greg LaMotte, VOA News, Baghdad.

注释：
scheduled 预定的
assembly 集会,与会者
insurgent 造反者
Sunni Muslim 穆斯林逊尼派教徒
Baghdad 巴格达
merchant 商人
presence 出席者
rebellious  造反的
maintain 维持
dominant 占优势的

 

1 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。