VOA标准英语2015--Turkey's Ruling Party Lures Voters in Opposition Stronghold

Turkey's Ruling Party Lures¹ Voters in Opposition² Stronghold

IZMIR, TURKEY—

Turkey’s AK Party is seeking a fourth successive general election victory, with the goal of securing two-thirds of the seats in parliament to rewrite the constitution.

AK Party member of parliament, Nesrin Ulema is rallying the party faithful. The party needs to score heavily in opposition strongholds like Izmir if it is to achieve its goal.

Ulema, is confident they have a broad appealing message.

"We are initiating³ a period with giant projects aimed at our people but at the same time that will keep us in the competition with the world," she said. "For this new period we have taken the steps for two nuclear power stations, also for one of the biggest airports in the world."

A decade of economic prosperity has been key to AK Party success and broad appeal, even in opposition strongholds. But the economy is now slowing. In areas, which traditionally offer strong AK support, there are grumbles⁴ about business. The AK Party is also running its first election without its charismatic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is now president. 

Prime minister facing challenges

Ahmet Davutoglu is the leader facing the challenge, says Betul Durmaz, a teacher of sociology at Izmir's Gediz University.

"Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a very strong leader and right now we saw that Davutoglu is still doing lots of mistakes. For that reason voters are still confused who is the leader of the AKP," she said.

But in Izmir, the AK Party like in the rest of the county has a formidable party machine that no other party can rival. That advantage has been key to its previous electoral success and could yet prove decisive in next month's elections, says AK member of parliament Ulema.

"This is the biggest secret behind AK party, which resulted in its 14 years in power and success in 9 consecutive⁵ elections," said Ulema. "Our party has about 4 million female members, and behind all of our political success lies house visits of our women branches and women members."

Ulema is using this advantage to the fullest and people appreciate.

"These visits are great. We can talk about problems, face-to-face," one woman said.

Izmir is a staunchly secular⁶ city whose voters fear the growing conservatism of the current government. As a result, the ruling party is pressing hard to make inroads in this city using its grassroots canvassing⁷ in the living rooms of the electorate⁸.

1 lures   

吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式）

参考例句：

• He left home because of the lures of life in the city. 他离家是由于都市生活的诱惑。
• Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. 可能正是寻觅幽静的去处，或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。

2 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。

3 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

4 grumbles   

抱怨( grumble的第三人称单数 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。
• I'm sick of your unending grumbles. 我对你的不断埋怨感到厌烦。

5 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

6 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

7 canvassing   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He spent the whole month canvassing for votes. 他花了整整一个月四处游说拉选票。
• I'm canvassing for the Conservative Party. 我在为保守党拉选票。 来自辞典例句

8 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。