2007年VOA标准英语-Bangladesh Postpones Elections, Declares State

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
12 January 2007

Controversial parliamentary elections in Bangladesh have been postponed² indefinitely by the president, who has also stepped aside as head of the caretaker administration and imposed a state of emergency. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the decision has calmed tensions in a country paralyzed by opposition³ strikes, but political uncertainty⁴ remains⁵.

 
President Iajuddin Ahmed delivering his speech to the nation in Dhaka, 11 Jan 2007
President Iajuddin Ahmed's moves came as the country reeled under months of crippling strikes and transportation blockades.

The protest actions were called by one of the country's two main political alliances, led by the Awami League, which had also said it would boycott⁶ the elections.

The president said free and fair elections were not possible without the participation⁷ of one of the country's two major political groups.

It was a moment of victory for the Awami League alliance, which had been in opposition during the parliament that ended last year.

The alliance had accused President Ahmed of bias⁸ in favor of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which ran the last government, and demanded that he step aside or face more street protests aimed at disrupting the polls.

Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil says his party will suspend the protests and cooperate with a new interim⁹ administration if the party's concerns are answered.

He says if a free and fair election is organized, and a correct voter list is prepared by an independent election commission, he thinks it will solve the problem.

 
Bangladesh army troops stand guard outside the presidential house in Dhaka, 12 Jan 2007
Political analysts¹⁰ say the decision to postpone¹ the elections has defused the confrontation¹¹ for the time being. The state of emergency has been welcomed by ordinary Bangladeshis, many of whom want a return to normalcy after the violent political standoff that has wracked the country.

However, the executive director of Dhaka's Center for Policy Dialogue, Debapriya Bhattacharya, notes that the task of finding compromises acceptable to the two bickering¹² political alliances will not be easy.

"The main challenge will be to create an enabling environment for a free and fair poll," he said.  "Keeping that objective in mind, one will have to see how the other institutions which have bearing on that environment are reconstituted or strengthened."

 
A Bangladeshi supporter of the 19-party alliance shouts slogans during a rally in Dhaka, 10 Jan. 2007
The Awami League has two core demands: first, revision of the electoral rolls, or voter list, which the party says contain 14 million fake names. Second, revamping of the election commission to ensure that it is neutral.

The party accuses its opponent, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, of packing the civil service and election commission with loyal officers who it alleges¹³ were planning to rig the elections in the BNP's favor.

President Ahmed, who remains head of state, says the country will prepare for new elections "within the shortest possible time," but there are concerns that the polls could be delayed by months. Analysts point out that revision of electoral rolls requires considerable work - which could mean that the country will face a prolonged period of emergency rule.

A former professor on South Asian affairs at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, S.D. Muni, says the danger of martial¹⁴ law always lurks¹⁵ in Bangladesh, a country with a history of military rule and violently bitter politics.

"[The] danger is he can continue to extend this emergency, and the possibility if no political compromise is worked out, that chaos¹⁶ or even the army being brought in to rule the country remains there," he said.

Debapriya Bhattacharya agrees that there is still the risk of a return to protests and violence.

"It has definitely brought a respite¹⁷ because the country was moving toward a unilateral poll, which was a bit of a relief, he said.  "But of course it has also a sense of concern, because how the democratic scenario¹⁸ will unfold, that has to be seen."

The next few months could be uncharted territory for the country, whose 35 year-old history has been marked by repeated political turbulence¹⁹.

1 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

2 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

3 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。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 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。

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 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

8 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

9 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

12 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

14 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

15 lurks   

n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Behind his cool exterior lurks a reckless and frustrated person. 在冷酷的外表背后，他是一个鲁莽又不得志的人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fortune lies within Bad, Bad fortune lurks within good. 福兮祸所倚，祸兮福所伏。 来自互联网

16 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

17 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

18 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

19 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。