VOA常速英语2014--US Hails Afghan Elections 美国对阿富汗大选表示欢迎（在线收听）

US Hails Afghan Elections 美国对阿富汗大选表示欢迎

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel are hailing Saturday’s elections in Afghanistan, which are expected to produce the country’s first-ever democratic transfer of power. Although Afghanistan’s next president may not be known for weeks, the Obama administration hopes the new leader will finalize a bilateral security agreement to keep a residual U.S. military presence in the country.

Ballot counting continues after Afghans braved threats of violence to go to the polls in record numbers. Presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani said the poll showed one thing.

阿富汗人不惧暴力威胁进行投票，投票率创下历史记录，目前点票工作仍在继续。总统候选人阿什拉夫·加尼：

"We have proven that we are people of the ballot, not of the bullets.  The Afghan public appreciates democracy, believes in it and is willing to make it work,” said Ghani.

“我们已经证明我们是愿意投票的人民，不是愿意挨子弹的人民。阿富汗民众珍惜民主，相信民主，愿意实现民主。”

Sporadic complaints of voting irregularities do not appear to have shaken Afghans’ faith in the democratic exercise, said presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah.

尽管不时有人指控出现选举违法现象，但这似乎并不能动摇阿富汗人对民主的信念，总统候选人阿卜杜拉说。

"We have registered our complaints, we have processed those complaints and referred it to the relevant commission, which is the Independent Election Complaints Commission, and hopefully those complaints will be dealt with duly," said Abdullah.

“我们登记了这些投诉并进行处理，将之提交给相关委员会，也就是独立选举投诉委员会，希望这些投诉能得到恰当解决。”

At more than 12 years, the Afghan war is America’s longest.  President Obama pledged to bring it to an end while preserving hard-fought gains in the country.  The administration views a successful transfer of power overseen by increasingly capable Afghan security forces as validation of their surge-and-withdraw strategy.  White House spokesman Josh Earnest spoke of the importance of continued support for Afghanistan.

历时12年的阿富汗战争是美国从事的最长战争，奥巴马总统承诺结束战争，同时在维护在该国来之不易的成果。奥巴马政府将希望能在日益强大的阿富汗军队监督下进行成功的权力交接，并视之为其战略生效的保障。白宫发言人厄尼思特。

“This is a little bit different than most elections that are conducted in the U.S. in which we find out the results that night or the next day.  But at the same time, we are hopeful that the elections will be peaceful and inclusive and broadly acceptable to the Afghan people.  A stable and acceptable political transition is critical to sustaining international support for Afghanistan,” said Earnest.

“这次选举和美国的大多数选举有点不同，在美国我们能在当天夜里或第二天就得出结果的。但同时，我们希望这次选举能和平进行，能兼收并蓄，为阿富汗人民所接受。稳定和可接受的政治过渡对维持国际上对阿富汗的支持来说至关重要。”

Unlike outgoing President Hamid Karzai, all Afghan presidential contenders have said they would sign a bilateral security agreement with the United States to keep several thousand military personnel in the country, primarily in a train-and-advise capacity.  Democratic Senator Tim Kaine backs the drawdown of U.S. forces, but says progress must not be squandered.

与即将离任的总统哈米德·卡尔扎伊不同，所有阿富汗总统候选人都说将与美国签署双边安全协议，在该国保持几千的军事人员，主要用于加强培训和咨询能力。民主党议员蒂姆·凯恩支持美国军队撤出，但他说一定不能将浪费虚掷了。

"There have been nearly 2,300 [U.S.] servicemembers who have given their lives in Afghanistan.  And the United States has spent $600 billion in Afghanistan.  While we cannot gloss over the challenges that remain in Afghanistan today and tomorrow, we should remember the progress that has been achieved in 13 years since the Taliban fell in October of 2001," said Kaine.

“有近2300美国军人在阿富汗献出了生命，美国在阿富汗耗资6000亿美元。我们要正视阿富汗目前和未来存在的挑战，应该记住自2001年10月塔利班倒台后13年来取得的进步。”

For now, from the White House to Capitol Hill, an almost audible sigh of relief can be heard that Afghanistan’s elections went forward with minimal violence, and that the country appears on track to have a president-elect declared by next month.

目前，看到阿富汗选举在没有多少暴力下进行，从白宫到国会山都松了口气，这个国家似乎下月就要有当选总统上任了。