VOA常速英语2008年-Crucial Elections in Pakistan on Monday

By Meredith Buel
Islamabad
17 February 2008

Voters in Pakistan will go to the polls Monday in one of the most crucial elections in the nation's history. Nearly 400,000 police and 80,000 troops are providing security. VOA Correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Islamabad the vote is accompanied by rising violence and concerns by opposition¹ parties that the election will be rigged.

Officials in Pakistan say 60,000 polling stations across the country are ready to open and more than 80 million people are eligible² to participate.

Voters will be electing members to the four provincial³ assemblies and the lower house of parliament.

The elections are considered crucial to restoring democracy to Pakistan following eight years of military rule under President Pervez Musharraf.

Opposition parties are accusing supporters of Mr. Musharraf of trying to rig the elections.

On the eve of the election, Information Minister Nisar Memon rejected those charges, saying all voters are strongly encouraged to come to the polls and the vote counting will be transparent⁴.

"We do hope that there will be complete, free, fair and peaceful election. But certainly the observers are there, the cameras are there, the eyes are there, the pens are there, the minds are there," said Memon. "I am sure they will make sure that no one who wants to [negatively] affect these elections will be able to succeed in this."

More than 80,000 soldiers and nearly 400,000 police and paramilitary forces are on alert to provide security for the polls.

The campaign has been overshadowed by security fears, following the assassination⁵ of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide-bomb attack last December.

Late Saturday, a suicide bombing following an opposition rally near the border with Afghanistan killed dozens of people and wounded many more.

The government says it has issued visas for more than one-thousand election observers and foreign journalists to cover the vote.

Several American lawmakers plan to observe the elections, including Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who is the co-chair of the Pakistan caucus⁶ in the House of Representatives.

"All of the world's eyes are on Pakistan. As I traveled from the United States it was clear, Pakistan's election tomorrow is not an isolated⁷ election. It really is being viewed as an ultimate symbol of, if you will, the ability to moderate, the ability to reconcile, being the charge of the day," she said.

Mr. Musharraf's presidency⁸ is not being contested in this election, but if opposition parties win a two-thirds majority in parliament, they would have enough votes to impeach⁹ him.

Early results are expected late Monday, but final official figures may not be available for several days.

In recent decades, turnout has been modest, running about 40 percent in the last national elections in 2002.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

5 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

6 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 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。

9 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。