VOA标准英语2015--Thousands of Monitors Prepare for Turkish Election

Thousands of Monitors Prepare for Turkish Election

ISTANBUL—

More than 55,000 election monitors are preparing for Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Turkey.  Tensions are high, with Turkish Kurds bracing¹ for possible violence as the party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tries to regain² its majority — something polls indicate is unlikely. 

Erdogan’s Kurdish and leftist opponents accuse his government of manipulating the vote and say they doubt the poll will be free and fair. 

Kurdish residents of Istanbul’s Dolapdera neighborhood set out Friday on a 15-hour bus trip to Turkey’s Kurdish region to vote.

“To say these elections will be fair is impossible," said Hayri Eser, one of the Kurdish voters. "But as best we can, we will keep the ballot³ boxes safe, and cast our votes, and we will continue our resistance.”

International observers are also here. Thomas Rymer of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said, "We’re looking at things such as the candidate registration⁴ process, the voter registration process. We have in-depth media analysis here. Media is one of the issues ... that is being looked at, I think, by many people in relation to this election.”

Police scuffled with journalists and protesters after authorities this week raided a media company whose TV stations and newspapers were critical of the Erdogan government. But such incidents did not deter⁵ the Kurds leaving Friday for polling stations in eastern Turkey.

One voter named Osman said, "Now, I’m speaking with courage. Normally, I’m afraid.  Even as I’m talking now, they can come and arrest me. The pressure on us is too much. I cannot speak comfortably, and nobody can speak.  If all Kurds could speak freely, most of our work would be complete.”

Outnumbered and outspent, many of the Kurdish voters are going to polls knowing that gaining a majority in parliament is out of the question. The most they can hope for is to gain influence — and a better future for their children.

Despite the tension and the threat of violence, they have hope that their ballots⁶ may bring about changes to the system that will eventually give them a greater voice.

1 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

2 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

3 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。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

6 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》