VOA慢速英语--印度尼西亚选举官员的死亡导致人们谈论变革

Deaths of Indonesian Election Officials Lead to Talk of Changes

You might have heard that more than 300 election workers died during Indonesia’s recent presidential and legislative¹ election. The deaths were blamed on conditions related to exhaustion² -- the state of being tired, either mentally or physically³.

One of those who died was Umar Madi, a 64-year-old election official in West Java. His job was to keep watch on the voting and count ballots⁴.

His daughter Evi Erwiyati said that a stroke was listed as the official cause of death. But her father also suffered from heart conditions that, at the time, were under control. She noted⁵, “My mother would bring him medications, but he didn’t stop working. He was happy to do it.”

Arief Priyo Susanto is an official with Indonesia’s General Elections Commission, known as the KPU. He confirmed the number of deaths to VOA. He said, “Generally, [the cause] is exhaustion.” More than 2,000 election workers also reportedly became sick.

News of the deaths came as a shock to many Indonesians. The April 17 vote was the first time Indonesia held both presidential and legislative elections at the same time. The first democratic presidential election took place in 2004.

This year as many as 193 million people voted at more than 810,000 voting stations nationwide. Early “quick count” election results show the current president, Joko Widodo, leading his opponent, former military commander Prabowo Subianto.

Titi Anggraini is the executive director of the monitoring group Association for Elections and Democracy. She said the $35 that Umar Madi was paid for monitoring the elections and counting the ballots by hand is not enough. She added that having both presidential and legislative elections at the same time was partly responsible for the deaths of so many officials.

This year, the KPU lowered the minimum age for elections officials from 25 to 17. It also reduced the number of voters permitted in a single voting center. These rules were meant to reduce the workload⁷ for each election official.

Yet as Titi noted, “it made no difference, since there are also problems with insufficient⁸ ballots, and the number of political parties and representatives went up as well.”

Arief of the KPU told VOA the most the government pays for relatives of the fallen officials is about $2,100. On April 23, the health ministry⁹ told hospitals and other health centers to give the greatest care to the sick officials.

Concerns over holding the presidential and legislative elections on the same day have led to talk of changes in future votes.

Ace⁶ Hasan Syadzily is a spokesman for Joko Widodo’s election campaign team. He said “We have to evaluate the simultaneous elections, especially with regards to the execution.”

Speaking to reporters, he expressed sympathy for the election workers who died. He said, “I think {these officials} are a warrior¹⁰ of democracy.”

The KPU will finish the vote counting process on May 22.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

insufficient – adj. not having or providing enough of what is needed; not sufficient

minimum – n. the lowest number or amount that is possible or allowed

monitor(ing) – v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check something for a special purpose over a period of time

simultaneous – adj. happening at the same time

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

3 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

4 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》

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

7 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

8 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。