2007年VOA标准英语-Turkish Voters Choose New Parliament in Crucial

By Sonja Pace
Istanbul
22 July 2007

Turkish voters went to the polls Sunday to cast their votes for a new 550-seat parliament. As VOA's Sonja Pace reports from Istanbul, the choices are varied¹ and the election is widely seen as crucial for Turkey's future.

Yeliz Turbay Hizal holds her one-year old son Baris as she votes at a polling station in a primary school in Ankara, 22 Jul 2007

There is no shortage of choice - 14 political parties and a large slate² of independent candidates are vying³ for seats in parliament.

By mid-day the stream of voters was steady, even at small polling stations. Despite the timing⁴ of the balloting⁵ during summer vacation time, interest is running high and opinion polls show that Turks feel there is a lot at stake.

Comments from voters at this central Istanbul polling station were consistent with the general division of opinions.

Muzaffer Akman says he is voting for the ruling Justice and Development party, AKP led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"I'm going to vote for the AK Party of Tayyip Erdogan because he has a strong stand and he has done good work for the last five years," he said.

And what does he want him, the party to do in the next five years?

"I want them to focus on the unemployed," Akman said.

Opinion polls show that unemployment is the number one concern for most voters. But for others, the issue of religion versus⁶ secularism⁸ is of major concern.

English teacher Gultac Horasan says that is why she voted for the opposition⁹.

"The main thing we're looking for is secularism. We're all afraid that secularism is in danger," said Horassan. "We hope to have a free Turkey, a liberated¹⁰ Turkey, a secular⁷ Turkey. I have been living in Istanbul for such a long time and never before have I felt so threatened of how I dress and how I act."

The dividing lines were clearly drawn¹¹ during the campaign. The AKP vowed¹² to continue its pro-reform, pro-business agenda. Its rivals, however, distrust the AKP's Islamist roots and Turkey's staunchly secular proponents¹³ accuse it of seeking to impose Islamic rule on the country.

Many also accuse the AKP of being soft on terrorism and of not doing enough to crack down on attacks by ethnic¹⁴ Kurdish separatists in the southeast of the country.

Parties must get a minimum 10 percent of the vote to make it into parliament. For many, especially from the Kurdish minority, that has posed a problem. So this time, Kurds are fielding independent candidates to avoid the minimum threshold.

Melice Celik says that is why she is voting for an independent.

"These elections are important not because we're going to be the majority in the parliament, but because we have one candidate that actually represents us for the first time," she said."

The AKP is widely expected to win the most votes. Its main secular rival the Republican Peoples' Party, CHP, is likely to come in second. The right-wing Nationalist Action Party, MHP, is also given a good chance of getting into parliament as are dozens of independent candidates, including those from the Kurdish minority.

1 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

2 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

3 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

8 secularism   

n.现世主义；世俗主义；宗教与教育分离论；政教分离论

参考例句：

• Unless are devoted to God, secularism shall not leave us. 除非我们奉献于神，否则凡俗之心便不会离开我们。 来自互联网
• They are no longer a huge threat to secularism. 他们已不再是民主的巨大威胁。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

13 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。