VOA常速英语2007年-Uzbekistan to Hold Presidential Elections in De

By Navbahor Imamova
Washington
07 November 2007
 

At least six candidates will be on the ballot¹ when the people of Uzbekistan go to the polls on December 23. All are running for pro-government groups in a country where no real opposition² is tolerated. Political observers expect President Islam Karimov, who was nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party, to retain his hold on power even though he is constitutionally barred from seeking another term. VOA's Navbahor Imamova reports that in a region known for holding on to its long time leaders, many political analysts³ are doubtful this election will bring any meaningful change in Uzbekistan.

Uzbek leader Islam Karimov has ruled the country for 18 years and says nothing in public about the end of his term.

Jon Greenwald, vice⁴ president of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, says that it is time for political progress in Uzbekistan.

"In the long run the system needs to have a way to allow for political change, any system does. Whether you have a democratic system of elections, whether you have a more controlled authoritarian⁵ system, there has to be some way for change to happen. Our concern with Uzbekistan is that there does not appear to be such a system," he said. 

To date, Uzbek elections have never been judged as free and fair by western election observers. Greenwald believes there is not much the international community can do to pressure the country to become more democratic.

Instead, he says the changes must come from within, "It should start with the leadership of the country which looks at its long term interests, the long term interests of its people and people within the establishment. We would hope that there could be a process of liberalization that starts that way. People themselves then can be brought in to the effort to produce reforms."

With a tightly controlled media, opposing voices to the government have been effectively silenced. As a result, Anthony Bowyer of the International Foundation for Election Systems says voters in Uzbekistan are being given few options in their candidates.

"Do we have the political space, the open space of competition in Uzbekistan? The fact that there has not been much coverage⁶ of the electoral process - given the fact that many candidates are not well known among the population. Survey results also suggest that population by and large is under informed about the political developments inside the country let alone outside of Uzbekistan's borders," he said. 

Sean Roberts, a professor of Central Asian studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. believes that while this provides short-term stability for the ruling government, down the road, the results could be disastrous⁷.

Roberts says, "If those countries do not begin to establish political processes where you have different players in the political life of the country, there will be some kind of a power struggle when succession eventually happens."

In Uzbek political culture change is synonymous with instability. Many analysts say that this will be a factor when voters go to the polls in December.

1 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。

2 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。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。