IN THE NEWS - Iraqi Elections

IN THE NEWS - Iraqi Elections
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Saturday, January 29, 2005

This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

On Sunday, for the first time in almost fifty years, Iraq will hold parliamentary elections with more than one party competing. Some Iraqis have already been voting in other countries.

Around fourteen million names are on voter lists in Iraq. Voters face threats of violence from groups like the one that calls itself al-Qaida in Iraq. On Friday, Iraqi officials announced the arrests of three top aides to its Jordanian-born leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

 
Graphic¹ Image
Iraqi soldiers and police will guard voting centers. United States officials say American troops will be prepared to assist.

The election is to choose two hundred seventy-five members for what is called a Transitional National Assembly.

One of the duties of this temporary assembly will be to name a three-member presidency² council. Another duty is to write a constitution. If Iraqis approve the constitution in October, then they will elect a new government at the end of the year.

On Sunday, Iraqis will vote from a single national ballot³. They will choose lists of candidates representing parties or coalitions⁴. Seats will be divided in the National Assembly based on the share of votes that a list receives. A goal is to have women in at least one-fourth of the seats.

Many political groups are competing. Commentators⁵ say the United Iraqi Alliance appears to have the strongest support. A Shiite Muslim leader, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, heads the candidate list.

The alliance wants Iraq to be an Islamic state with a federal government. The alliance has the support of the highest religious leader in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Its candidate list is mainly Shiite. Iraq is about sixty percent Shiite. But the list also contains other religious and ethnic⁶ groups including Iraqi Kurds and ethnic Turkmens.

Another group of candidates that may do well in the voting is called the Iraqi List. Its candidates are Shiite and Sunni. Iyad Allawi, now the temporary prime minister of Iraq, heads this list.

About twenty percent of Iraqis are Sunni. Some Sunnis have called for a boycott⁷ of the voting. Their Iraqi Islamic Party withdrew its candidate list from the election. Members said the security situation was too threatening.

President Bush has urged Iraqis to vote. So has the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. On Friday he urged Iraqis to follow the example of the Afghan people. Mister Karzai called the election a necessary risk to bring order to Iraq.

And, in Washington, Condoleezza Rice was sworn in Friday as secretary of state. [She first took the oath of office in private on Wednesday; a public ceremony with President Bush took place Friday at the State Department.] She was national security adviser⁸ to the president. Miz Rice replaces Colin Powell who resigned.

At her confirmation⁹ hearings, some Democratic senators condemned¹⁰ her handling of the war in Iraq. They said she used bad judgment¹¹ and misled the public about the reasons for going to war. On Wednesday the Senate voted eighty-five to thirteen to confirm Miz Rice as secretary of state.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

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 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

5 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 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。

8 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

10 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。