VOA常速英语2008年-Monarchy Loyalist Party Wins Bhutan Election

By Raymond Thibodeaux
Thimphu, Bhutan
25 March 2008

In Bhutan's landmark¹ elections that ended a century of absolute monarchy², the party widely perceived as most loyal to the monarchy won by a landslide³. Raymond Thibodeaux files this report for VOA from Thimphu, Bhutan's capital.

Most of the media and political pundits⁴ in this tiny Himalayan nation did not see much difference between the two parties vying⁵ to lead the nation into democracy, but the voters of Bhutan did.

"The DPT, the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, winning 44 of 47 seats in the National Assembly, is declared the ruling party," said Bhutan Election Commissioner⁶ Kunzang Wangdi. "The People's Democratic Party, the PDP, having won three seats in the National Assembly, will be the opposition⁷ party."

And, with those words, Wangdi made it official. Candidates from the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, also known as the Bhutan Prosperity Party, won a lopsided victory in Bhutan's first-ever national election.

DPT spokesman Palden Tshering says no one expected such a landslide.

"What I can say is the people have decided," said Tshering. "They looked at the two parties and probably figured out that our party is a party that could possibly give them the government envisioned by His Majesty⁸ [Bhutan's current king], one that is stable, one that is strong and one that will lay the foundation for the next hundred years."

The electoral turnout was 79 percent of the country's 318,000 eligible⁹ voters.

DPT President Jigmi Thinley is expected to be the country's next prime minister, a post he has held twice before. But this time, he will lead the country as Bhutan's king ends a century of dynastic rule that has been largely peaceful.

In Monday's polls, voters elected 47 members of the lower house of parliament. Twenty members of the upper house were elected, earlier this year.

Tshering says unifying¹⁰ the country is a top priority. "To bridge the gap that has formed in our society today as a result of the elections, that would probably be the first task that we have, because we want the country to be unified," said Tshering. "We want the people to be happy. We would rather there not be any discord¹¹ in our society today."

The electoral commission says the voting was peaceful and orderly, with only minor¹² problems.

However, the election was not without its critics. Members of the ethnic¹³ Nepali community say they were barred from voting. More than 100,000 ethnic Nepalis, who are mainly Hindu, were forced out of Bhutan in the 1990's. Many of them are living as refugees in eastern Nepal and are seeking to be repatriated¹⁴ to Bhutan.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

3 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

4 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

5 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 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。

8 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

9 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。

10 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

11 discord   

n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐

参考例句：

• These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。
• The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。

12 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

13 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。

14 repatriated   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The refugees were forcibly repatriated. 难民被强制遣送回国。
• Ancient artworks were repatriated from the US to Greece. 古代艺术品从美国遣送回希腊。 来自《简明英汉词典》