VOA慢速英语2016 手机应用打击乌干达选举舞弊行为

AS IT IS 2016-02-18 Phone App Fights Fraud in Ugandan Election 手机应用打击乌干达选举舞弊行为

This week, 15 million registered voters in Uganda will go to the polls to elect a president, parliament and local officials.

本周，乌干达1500万选民将前往投票站选出一位总统、议会和地方官员。

Incumbent 1 president Yoweri Museveni faces two opposition 2 candidates: Kizza Besigye and Amama Mbabazi.

现任总统约文·穆塞韦尼面对两位在野党候选人：贝西耶和姆巴巴齐。

Museveni took over Uganda in 1986 by force after a civil war. Before that, the country was controlled by a series of dictators, including Idi Amin. Amin ruled the country in the 1970s.

穆塞韦尼1986年内战后通过武力上台，在此之前，该国被多个独裁者统治着，包括20世纪70年代在位的伊迪·阿敏。

Museveni won his first election in 1996.

伊迪·阿敏1996年首次赢得选举。

Observers who follow elections around the world say Uganda does not have a free election process. They say the country’s elections are manipulated and opposition candidates are not free to campaign.

观察世界各地选举的观察家们称乌干达没有一套自由的选举程序，他们称该国的选举被操纵，在野党候选人无法自由参与竞选。

For example, just three days before the election, Bessigye was detained for a short time. The BBC reports that police said he was disrupting traffic on his way to campaign event.

比如，就在选举的三天前，贝西耶被短暂拘留，BBC报道称警方称他在前往选举活动的路上干扰交通。

Freedom House is a pro-Democracy organization that monitors elections around the world. The organization releases a report called “Freedom in the World” each year.

自由之家是个支持民主的组织，监督世界各地的选举活动，该组织每年都要发布名为《世界自由》的报告。

In 2015 Uganda was rated “not free” and was given  a score of 6 for political rights. Seven is the worst score.

2015年乌干达被评为“不自由”，政治权利方面的得分为6，7是最低的分数。

But a team of recent computer science graduates from Makerere University is hoping their new app, called “E-Poll” will be able to change that.

但最近马凯雷雷大学一个计算机科学毕业生团队希望这款名为“E投票”的应用能改变这一现状。

The developers say the app is supposed to make elections more fair. It compares the number of voters at polling places with official numbers announced by Uganda’s Electoral Commission.

开发者们称该应用的目的是让选举更公平，它将投票站的选民人数与乌干达选举委员会宣布的官方数字进行对比。

Observers are looking for a difference between the number of votes and the number of voters reported by poll. If there is a difference, the election results could be challenged.

观察家在研究选票数和投票站报道的选民人数之间的差异，如果存在差异，那么就可以对选举结果进行质疑。

Shafiq Kauma is one of the developers.

Shafiq Kauma是其中一位开发者。

He says an election-tracking app seemed like a good way to help his country.

他说选举追踪应用似乎可以帮助到他的国家。

The developers say the time it takes to certify 3 the election in Uganda allows those in power to rig the election. They believe their app can help make election results more clear.

这些开发者称澄清选举所需时间足以让执政者操纵选举，他们认为这个应用能让选举结果更透明。

Kauma says election results from each polling place pass through a number of stages before they reach the electoral commission.

Kauma说每个投票站的选举结果在最终抵达选举委员会那里之前要经过很多步骤。

E-Poll sends election data straight from the polling place to the tally 4 center, Kauma says.

Kauma说“E投票”直接将选举数据从投票站发送到点票站。

There is another way officials in Uganda hope to make this year’s election more transparent 5. A system that uses biometrics, or a person’s physical characteristics, is in place to confirm voters’ identities. Those characteristics include fingerprints 6, faces and the retina of the eye. A scanner can read those characteristics and confirm identities.

乌干达官方还希望用另一个办法来让今年的选举更透明，一个利用个人身体特征的系统已经被投入使用，用以核实选民的身份，这些特征包括指纹、面部和眼睛的视网膜，一个扫描仪可以读取这些特征并核实身份。

Words in This Story

manipulate – v. to control something in an unfair way

incumbent – adj. holding an office or position

rig – v. to control or affect something in a dishonest way

biometric – n. a physical characteristic that is different from person to person – fingerprints, for example

transparent – adj. easy to understand

app – n. a computer or mobile phone program