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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Thimpu, Bhutan
22 May 2007
There is anxiety in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, where "gross national happiness" is the metric of success. Changes are occurring swiftly since King Jigme Singye Wangchuck suddenly retired1 last year, handing power to his 26-year-old son who will be formally crowned next year. The senior monarch2 also declared that Bhutan's kings should no longer have absolute power, and has nudged his somewhat reluctant subjects towards a constitutional monarchy3 and an elected national legislature. VOA's Steve Herman reports from Thimpu, Bhutan, on the latest steps in the "Land of the Thunder Dragon's" journey to democracy.
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| Bhutanese are anxious about the current transition from absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy |
Bhutan is in the process of holding its first general election, sort of. It is actually a mock election, a two-part practice exercise that began last month when voters chose among four shades of "Thunder Dragon" political parties: red, green, yellow and blue. Yellow and red were the top vote-getters, and stand-in candidates - in this case high school students from the two fictional4 parties - will be on the ballots5 for the practice run-off vote next Monday.
The mock elections are aimed at preparing the people of this landlocked mountainous country for the real thing, and the population of fewer than 700,000 people is taking the exercise seriously.
The first real vote, later this year, will send 20 non-partisan candidates to the National Council, the upper house of the new parliament. The king will nominate five additional "eminent6 persons" to the Council. Next year, the public will elect 47 party-affiliated politicians to the National Assembly, the lower house, where they will serve five-year terms.
Chief Election Commissioner7 Dasho Kunzang Wangdi says the mock elections are necessary to teach Bhutanese how the democratic process works, and to convince them that the government is sincere about holding free and fair elections.
"Till that time, I think, probably people did not really believe it," he said. "It may be coming, it may not be so. Now they know for sure that the elections are going to happen. Therefore there is enthusiasm being generated in terms of better voter registration8, and people trying to understand more about democracy and how effectively they can participate."
A democracy needs not only voters, but candidates. Initially9 it was feared there might be a dearth10 of potential lawmakers in a country with no tradition of politicking11. Now, at least three parties are forming, and prospective12 candidates are emerging.
One of them is Lekey Dorji, whose only experience with elections was being voted chief prefect of his school in ninth grade. Dorji went on to earn an engineering degree from the University of Kansas in the United States. After graduate studies in Britain, he returned home to work for the national phone company, and then became an Internet entrepreneur in the capital, Thimpu.
Dorji is running for the seat in his home district, a rural area where electricity is virtually non-existent and roads few and far between. He is promising13 development for his constituents14, who are mainly farmers.
"If I'm elected, I would be ashamed if I don't deliver on those promises," he said. "Of course, you will also not be promising things that you can't really deliver. But I'm quite positive that through [the] democratic process that we will be able to help our people in the constituencies. These are the people who really need help."
But there is also skepticism about democracy here. Even the elections chief acknowledges that democracy has an image problem, perhaps because elections in neighboring democracies are a rough-and-tumble exercise, and many of those elected are of dubious15 repute.
"They think democracy means the player from wealth and muscle power, all is sort of battle between vested interests," he added.
Candidate Dorji also realizes his career change is fraught16 with challenges in a nation where most people strongly express contentment with the hereditary17 monarchy that has ruled for the past 100 years.
"Through the media and all, we always hear about politicians being greedy, politicians being bad," added candidate Dorji. "They are quite anxious. They have enjoyed the prosperity, the happiness, under the kings. This is an irreversible process our king has initiated18, we just can't go back."
One of the first duties of the novice19 legislators will be formally approving the draft constitution, another departure for the kingdom. The document calls for kings to retire as head of state at age 65, recognizes Buddhism20 as the "spiritual heritage" of Bhutan, and ensures that a minimum of 60 percent of the country's total land will forever remain under forest cover.
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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fictional
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| adj.小说的，虚构的 | |
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ballots
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| 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 ) | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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registration
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| n.登记，注册，挂号 | |
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initially
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| adv.最初，开始 | |
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dearth
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| n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨 | |
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politicking
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| n.政治活动，竞选活动v.从政( politic的现在分词 ) | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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constituents
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| n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素 | |
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dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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novice
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| adj.新手的，生手的 | |
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Buddhism
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| n.佛教（教义） | |
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