美国国家公共电台 NPR 伊拉克议会选举低投票率 年轻人不再信任美式民主

OK. So the good news from Iraq's parliamentary election is that voting ended with no major violence. The bad news-a whole lot of people just didn't vote.

好的。因此，伊拉克议会选举的好消息是，投票结束时没有发生重大暴力事件。坏消息是，很多人都没有投票。

The Iraqis are tired of elections that fail to address corruption¹, poor public services and the growth of powerful militias³. And young activists⁴ who organized mass demonstrations⁵ in 2019 even urged people to boycott⁶ the election. Now, against that backdrop, it looks like the usual parties will hold on to power. But the vote offers a window into the health of Iraq's democracy.

伊拉克人厌倦了不能解决腐败、糟糕的公共服务和民兵组织扩张问题的选举。2019年组织大规模示威的年轻活动人士甚至力劝人们抵制选举。现在，在这样的背景下，看起来往常的政党将继续掌权。但是这次投票为伊拉克民主的健康状况打开了一扇窗户。

How was election day itself?

选举日情况怎么样?

Well, we visited polling stations around Baghdad. And whilst there was a heavy security presence, the atmosphere was calm. Many voters had dressed in their best, and some brought families with them, like Hashem Muthawi.

我们参观了巴格达周围的投票站。虽然有大量的安保人员在场，但氛围很平静。许多选民穿上了他们最好的衣服，一些人还带来了家人，比如哈什姆·穆萨维。

He was there with his little granddaughter. She was far too young to vote, but the polling station staff had let her stick her finger in the ink just to - just like the adults so that she felt included. Muthawi told me he's voted in all the elections so far in Iraq, even in the earlier days when it was dangerous and voters were sometimes threatened.

他和他的小孙女在一起。她还太小不能投票，但投票站的工作人员让她把手指伸进墨水里，就像成年人一样，让她觉得自己也在其中。 穆萨维告诉我，到目前为止，他在伊拉克的所有选举中都投了票，即使是在早期危险，选民偶尔会受到威胁的时候。

So he says, "The right to elections is a victory for Iraq. During Saddam Hussein's regime, it was impossible for Iraqis to vote, so now it's important to exercise that right."But, Rachel, a lot of Iraqis don't see it this way and, instead, decided⁷ to stay home.

所以他说，“拥有选举权利是伊拉克的胜利。在萨达姆·侯赛因统治时期，伊拉克人不可能投票，所以现在行使这一权利很重要。”但是，蕾切尔，很多伊拉克人不这么看，他们决定留在家里。

So A alluded⁸ to the reasons why earlier, but just say more about why turnout was so low.

有人之前提到了原因，不过我想多谈谈投票率这么低的原因。

Well, first, just to tell you a bit about it, the turnout was 41% yesterday. That's the lowest ever. It was about 44% in 2018. And this year, Iraq had made some changes to the election law that were meant to inspire voters to come out to the polls.

首先，跟你说一点，昨天的投票率是41%。 这是有史以来最低的了。2018年，这一比例约为44%。今年，伊拉克对选举法做了一些修改，旨在鼓励选民出来投票。

But clearly, it hasn't worked. Even at the bigger polling stations I went to, you know, there were lots of empty voting rooms with staff sitting around. Some voters did show up, but they'd come to spoil their ballots⁹ in protest.

但很明显，并没有起作用。即使在我去过的较大的投票站，你知道，也有很多空的投票室，工作人员坐在那里。一些选民确实出现了，但他们会来破坏选票以示抗议。

And the reason for all this is because there's massive disappointment in the political system. Iraq is this oil-rich country, and yet its public services, like hospitals, are failing. There's poor governance, and political parties siphon off state funds for their own political projects.

造成这一切的原因是人们对政治体系非常失望。伊拉克是一个石油资源丰富的国家，然而它的公共服务，比如医院，却在走下坡路。 政府管理不善，政党抽调国家资金用于自己的政治项目。

So what does that mean for the results in this election?

那这次选举结果意味着什么?

Well, look. It's too early to know the results, but there are two major groups to watch out for. One is the movement of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who's running on a nationalist agenda. And then there's the bloc¹⁰ of Shia political parties who are allied¹¹ with Iran. The U.S. will be watching these especially closely, as they've been calling for all U.S. troops to leave.

嗯,看。现在知道结果还为时过早，但有两个主要群体值得关注。一个是什叶派神职人员穆克塔达·萨德尔的运动，他正在推行民族主义议程。还有与伊朗结盟的什叶派政党集团。 美国将特别密切关注这些事件，因为他们一直在呼吁所有美国军队撤离。

These parties are the political representations for militias who fought ISIS, or Daesh, as people here call the group, when the Iraqi army collapsed¹². One supporter didn't want to give his name because he fears dangerous repercussions¹³ if his neighbors know how he voted. He tells us this when he refers to the political militia² called Hashd al-Shaabi.

这些政党是在伊拉克军队崩溃时，与ISIS作战的民兵组织的政治代表，当地人称ISIS为达伊沙。一位支持者不愿透露自己的名字，因为他担心如果邻居知道他是怎么投票的，后果很危险。当他提到政治民兵组织Hashd al-Shaabi时，他告诉了我们这件事。

When the Daesh come to the - our country, only the Hashd al-Shaabi has come and stopped them. If Daesh enter to Baghdad and other place, they kill everybody .

当达伊沙进入我们国家时，只有哈什·沙比来阻止他们。如果达伊沙进入巴格达和其他地方，他们会杀死所有人。

You know, he's afraid that ISIS might come back. And like most Iraqis we spoke¹⁴ with in this election, he really just wants a country that's safe where he can live a good life.

你知道，他害怕ISIS返回来。就像我们在这次选举中交谈过的大多数伊拉克人一样，他真的只是想要一个安全的国家，在那里他可以过上好日子。

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

4 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》

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 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。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

9 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》

10 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

11 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

12 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

13 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。