VOA标准英语2009年-Iraqi Electoral Law Remains in Limbo Follo

By Edward Yeranian
Cairo
26 October 2009

 
President Talabani holds meeting for Political Council of National Security at Baghdad's al-Salam Palace, 25 Oct 2009
The Iraqi parliament was scheduled to discuss the country's electoral law, Sunday, to set the stage for anticipated elections in January. However, two bloody¹ explosions near Baghdad's Green Zone forced a postponement² of the debate, which once again, leaves Iraq's political process in the lurch³.

Loss of legitimacy⁴

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki already warned lawmakers, Saturday, that a failure to approve the electoral law would cause the government to "lose its legitimacy" and thrust the country back into an atmosphere of chaos⁵ and violence.

He says that postponing⁶ the election because of the electoral law would mean that the government would lose its legitimacy, along with that of parliament, bringing everything to a halt and spawning⁷ chaos. He asks if Iraq wants to return to square one and the days of coups⁸, chaos, sectarianism, al Qa'eda, and Saddam Hussein.

Kirkuk is key stumbling block

 

 
Mohammed Said Idries, of the Al Ahram Center for Strategic Studies, says that there are many reasons why the electoral law remains⁹ stalled in the Iraqi parliament, but that the quarrel about the identity Kirkuk is one key stumbling block.

He says that the discord¹⁰ centers the major influx¹¹ of Kurds into Kirkuk in recent years, increasing its population by 10 percent. He says Kurds have left predominantly Kurdish cities to increase the population of Kirkuk, to annex¹² it to Kurdistan.

Kurdish political leaders argue that Kirkuk is historically part of the Kurdish region and that Saddam Hussein expelled many Kurds, bringing in Iraqi Arabs to replace them.

Iraqi diaspora also poses problem

Idries says another obstacle to dentente between Iraq's Shi'ites, Sunnis, and Kurds is the existence of four-million Iraqis, living abroad, many of whom are disenfranchised. He says a large percentage of them are being ignored politically.

He says the Iraqis living abroad have been totally ignored, until now. He says they represent a force which opposes what is happening inside Iraq. He says various factions¹³ are trying to unite these resistance forces to support candidates and influence the political process. He says these forces could block the political process.

An enthusiastic recent gathering¹⁴ of the newly formed, mostly Sunni Iraqi "Accordance Front" brings together many of those disenfranchised Iraqis, some of whom have ties with the "resistance" abroad.

Existential issue?

Member of parliament Selim Jabbari of the Iraqi Islamic Party is a key leader of the Accordance Front. He thinks that the electoral law is an "existential issue" affecting all Iraqis, as well as the future of the country and should not be rushed to a vote.

He says parliament could come up with an electoral law within a few months, but out of principle, the people should decide the fate of the law and express their views about the upcoming election. He says the electoral law is a political issue and affects the interests of all parties. He says it should not be taken lightly, because it will determine the future of the country.

Paul Salem, who heads the Carnegie Center for Peace in the Middle East, argues that, despite the current impasse¹⁵, it is a positive sign that Iraqi political adversaries¹⁶ are discussing their differences in parliament.

"First of all, it's good that disagreements are taking place in parliament," Salem said. "It's natural that in parliament people agree or disagree and negotiate and bargain, especially over election laws, which are the most major laws that a parliament passes."

Better relations is a good thing

Salem also thinks that the recent improvement of relations between the United States and regional powers, as well as relations among those regional powers, should impact positively¹⁷ on Iraq's geo-political situation.

"The powers that have an influence in Iraq are in a much better situation than they were two years ago and certainly they will encourage, will coax¹⁸, will put some pressure on the Iraqi politicians to get this done," Salem said. "So, I think this is a normal hiccup¹⁹ in a very difficult process. The issue of Kirkuk, of course, is a very explosive one, but I don't think it's going to explode, now because the Kurds are very dependent on the U.S. and Turkey. They are clinging to Kirkuk….but they will not go to war over it, now."

However, Mohammed Said Idries is less optimistic that the electoral crisis will be resolved quickly and believes that the imminent²⁰ American withdrawal²¹ is causing instability. He is urging the U.S. government to talk and negotiate with the Iraqi resistance, abroad.

1 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

2 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

3 lurch   

n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行

参考例句：

• It has been suggested that the ground movements were a form of lurch movements.地震的地面运动曾被认为是一种突然倾斜的运动形式。
• He walked with a lurch.他步履蹒跚。

4 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

7 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

8 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 discord   

n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐

参考例句：

• These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。
• The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。

11 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

12 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

13 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

14 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

15 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

16 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

17 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

18 coax   

v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取

参考例句：

• I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。
• He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。

19 hiccup   

n.打嗝

参考例句：

• When you have to hiccup,drink a glass of cold water.当你不得不打嗝时，喝一杯冷水就好了。
• How long did he hiccup?他打嗝打了多久？

20 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

21 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。