UN Says Afghan Elections on Track

 

 

By Peter Heinlein

United Nations officials say preparations for Afghanistan's October 9 presidential election are on track, despite expectations of violence. U.N. and Afghan diplomats¹ reject warnings that powerful warlords will try to hijack² the vote.

With a week and a half to go before election day, U.N. Undersecretary General Jean-Marie Guehenno says recruitment of 125,000 poll workers has been completed in six of Afghanistan's eight regions. Sixteen-thousand more observers and poll monitors will be stationed at 5,000 voting centers nationwide.

Ten million people have registered to vote in what will be Afghanistan's first-ever presidential election.

Briefing the Security Council Tuesday, Mr. Guehenno cautioned that the process remains³ vulnerable to what he called "the prevailing⁴ level of insecurity." He said in some areas where security staff is spread thin, tribal⁵ elders, some of them often referred to as "warlords," are being asked to help out.

"Tribal elders have been requested to both provide security and work with local councils to ensure that those attempting to disrupt the process are deterred⁶ or discouraged," he said. "In most cases, the response has been extremely positive."

Mr. Guehenno's briefing came a day after a human rights group warned that powerful warlords were hijacking⁷ the election process. The group Human Rights Watch issued a report saying armed factions⁸, some of them allied⁹ with the United States, were using force, threats and corruption¹⁰ to win over voters.

Both Mr. Guehenno and Afghanistan's U.N. ambassador, Ravan Farhadi, brushed off the report's conclusions. Ambassador Farhadi predicted that many of those described by Human Rights Watch as warlords would be among those helping¹¹ with election preparations.

"This is just their way of propaganda, because the warlords, I mean they were calling warlords those who serve Afghanistan," he said. "A man like Ismail Khan, like [Abdul Rashid] Dostum, General Atta [Mohammed], they are all serving Afghanistan for peace."

Undersecretary General Guehenno said he had heard reports of voter intimidation¹², but was confident they would not affect the credibility of elections.

The Afghan election is widely seen as a test of the Bush administration's policies in that region.

Mr. Guehenno predicted the vote would be far from perfect, but said he was confident any disruptions would not be enough to damage the credibility of the election.

Peter Heinlein, VOA News, the United Nations.

 

注释：
warlord 军阀
hijack 劫持
U.N. Undersecretary General 联合国总次长
recruitment 征募新兵, 补充
caution 警告
vulnerable 易受攻击的
tribal 部落的, 部族的
Human Rights Watch 人权观察
faction 派别，小集团
propaganda 宣传
intimidation 威胁，胁迫

 

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

7 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

8 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

9 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。

10 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。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 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。