VOA常速英语2008年-Polls Close in Pakistan's Parliamentary Electio

By Meredith Buel
Islamabad
18 February 2008

Polls have closed in Pakistan, where voters turned out to elect a new parliament and mark the country's transition from military rule to a democracy.  Threats of violence appeared to keep voter turnout low.  The vote comes amid concerns of violence and allegations that the results may be rigged. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Islamabad.

Officials in Pakistan say more than 80 million voters are eligible¹ to participate in the election to select members of the lower house of Parliament and the nation's four provincial² assemblies.

The elections are considered critically important to restoring democracy following eight years of military rule under President Pervez Musharraf.

The voting is occurring against a backdrop of concern about security following the assassination³ of opposition⁴ leader Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide bombing attack last December.

More than 80,000 soldiers and nearly 400,000 police and paramilitary forces are providing security for the polls.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Q, which backs President Musharraf, is facing a major challenge from Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and a faction⁵ of the Pakistan Muslim League headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Several deaths were reported during sporadic⁶ clashes across the country.

Late Sunday in Lahore unidentified gunmen shot and killed a candidate from Mr. Sharif's party who was running in the provincial elections.

Several American lawmakers are here to observe the elections, including Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, the co-chair of the Pakistan caucus⁷ in the House of Representatives.

"We are here today to encourage the Pakistani people to accept the call of courage and to vote," she said. "But we also recognize that it is necessary to provide safe and transparent⁸ methods of voting and an atmosphere for voting."

Mr. Musharraf's presidency⁹ is not being contested in this election, but if opposition parties win a two-thirds majority in parliament, they would have enough votes to impeach¹⁰ him.

Opposition parties are accusing supporters of Mr. Musharraf of trying to rig the elections.

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, the director of the independent Pakistan Institute of Legislative¹¹ Development and Transparency, says he agrees with the allegations.

"Whether he will be able to do the Election Day rigging or not remains¹² to be seen," he said. "But the signs are that the government is positioning itself to manipulate the elections."

President Musharraf has repeatedly promised the elections will be free and fair.

With Pakistan facing a growing insurgency¹³ by Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants¹⁴, the vote is expected to be a referendum on General Musharraf.

Retired¹⁵ Major General Jamshed Ayaz Khan, the president of the independent Institute for Regional Studies, says he believes it will take several months for the political situation in Pakistan to stabilize¹⁶.

"Unity¹⁷ does not mean there is no opposition. But it will be a peaceful transfer of power. Then gradually, it will take I think a couple of months, two or three months, gradually moving in that direction where we will have a really good system of parliament," said Khan. "I think it has to be done. It will be done."

Analysts¹⁸ say security concerns are likely to have an impact on turnout, which was about 40-percent in the last national elections in 2002.

Early results are expected by late Monday evening, but final official figures may not be available for several days.

1 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

4 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。

5 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

6 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

7 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

8 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

14 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

15 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

16 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

17 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

18 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。