VOA标准英语2014--Egyptians Vote Under Tight Security 埃及人在严密的安全措施下投票

 

Egyptians Vote Under Tight Security 埃及人在严密的安全措施下投票

CAIRO — Egyptians began voting Tuesday in a two-day referendum to decide whether to adopt a new constitution supported by the military-backed interim¹ government.

Voters cast ballots³ under tight security. Reuters news agency reports at least nine people were killed in confrontations⁴ between Muslim Brotherhood⁵ supporters and police, official sources said. And even before the polls opened, a bomb exploded outside a courthouse in Giza. No one was injured. 

Voters who lined up to take part in the first electoral test of the nation's military-backed interim government expressed hope it would mark the beginning of the roadmap for Egypt after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last year.

“I think it's going to be a positive step and bring good to Egypt, God willing. And we'll be a new world and make up for all the past,” voter Afaf Rashad told VOA. 

Officials, including defacto leader General Abdel Fattah el Sissi who removed Morsi from power in July, have been pushing hard for a yes vote.  Signs in favor of a new charter are everywhere, while the military has brought out youth to literally⁶ sing the charter's praises.

A committee of mostly non-Islamist Egyptians wrote the new version.  The third in as many years, it grants a wide range of freedoms. But constitutional lawyer Ahmed Kamal Abou El Magd says Egypt lacks the political will and institutions to back it up.

“I really appreciate the job done by this committee of 50 but all this can be changed overnight. And nobody would raise a finger to say this is not serious, this is not true,” he said.

Many see this as a referendum not just on a new set of laws, but on the future leadership of Egypt, specifically, whether General el Sissi should become the latest in the country's long tradition of military men as president.

“We see him as a leader.  And if this referendum is about Sissi, then welcome,” opined voter Soheir Esmat Ibrahim.

The defense⁷ minister is expected to announce a run for president if the charter is approved.  Which, in addition to a brutal⁸ crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and others, is one of several ISSUES that splits an already deeply divided nation.

The Brotherhood, now branded a terrorist group, has called for a boycott⁹ of the vote, seeing it as an attempt to legitimize what it calls the coup¹⁰ against Mr. Morsi. And it's not just most Islamists against the charter.  Some long-time secular¹¹ activists¹² have urged a boycott, while others have been arrested simply for advocating a no vote.   

“They are against the constitution, the new constitution, but again they are very much minority," said security analyst¹³ and ex-general Sameh Seif el Yazal.  "So, I don’t think this will really affect the majority of saying yes to the new constitution.”

But in Egypt, many of the most important changes have happened because of actions by minorities on the street, not majorities at the ballot² box.

Meanwhile,  the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), a Geneva-based group that works to uphold the rule of law, described the draft constitution as highly flawed.

 

“The referendum campaign has taken place within a context of fear, intimidation¹⁴ and repression¹⁵, calling into question the fairness of the entire process,” it said in a statement.

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 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。

3 ballots   

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 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

5 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

9 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

10 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

11 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。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

14 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

15 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。