时事新闻:阿富汗将举行第二轮总统选举

【英文原文】

Karzai Accepts Runoff, Ending Political Deadlock
President Hamid Karzai yielded to international pressure and accepted a runoff in Afghanistan's controversial presidential election, ending a debilitating political deadlock and triggering preparations for a new vote on Nov. 7.

Mr. Karzai's decision, announced after days of meetings in Kabul with Sen. John Kerry and phone conversations with world leaders, opened a way out of the political crisis that undermined the legitimacy of the country's democratic process and reinforced the spreading Taliban insurgency.

Allegations of widespread fraud in the Aug. 20 election had created uncertainty as to whether the U.S. and its allies have a credible partner in Kabul, and prompted President Barack Obama's administration to launch a second review of its Afghan policy in nine months. On Tuesday, Mr. Obama -- who is still examining a request by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan for tens of thousands of more troops -- called Mr. Karzai to congratulate him on his 'constructive' action.

'This election could have remained unresolved to the detriment of the country,' Mr. Obama said in a written statement. 'The Afghan constitution and laws are strengthened by President Karzai's decision, which is in the best interests of the Afghan people.'

Mr. Karzai, a member of Afghanistan's biggest ethnic community, the Pashtuns, is widely expected to win the second-round vote. Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah is seen as representing the ethnic Tajik minority. The next two finishers in the first round drew much of their support from Pashtun areas.

【中文译文】

阿富汗总统卡尔扎伊(Hamid Karzai)在国际压力下做出让步，接受对该国富有争议的总统大选进行第二轮选举。卡尔扎伊此举结束了导致阿富汗内耗的政治僵局，启动了11月7日新选举的准备工作。

在卡尔扎伊做出这一决定前几天，他在喀布尔会见了美国参议员约翰•克里(John Kerry)，并与全球领导人进行了电话讨论。卡尔扎伊此举为阿富汗走出政治危机开辟了一条道路。阿富汗当前的政治危机削弱了该国民主进程的合法性，增强了势力不断壮大的塔利班叛乱分子的实力。

8月20日的大选一直饱受大规模舞弊的非议，这给美国及其盟友是否在喀布尔拥有一个可信的伙伴带来了不确定性，促使美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)政府在9个月内对阿富汗政策进行了第二次评估。奥巴马周二致电卡尔扎伊，对后者这一“建设性”的举动表示祝贺。奥巴马目前仍在审议驻阿富汗美军最高指挥官要求增兵数万人的申请。

奥巴马发表书面声明说，如果卡尔扎伊不做出这一决定，大选问题可能会迟迟得不到解决，从而会损害到阿富汗的利益。卡尔扎伊的决定巩固了阿富汗宪法和法律，符合阿富汗人们的最佳利益。

卡尔扎伊来自阿富汗最大族裔普什图族，外界普遍预计他能够赢得第二轮大选。阿富汗前外交部长阿卜杜拉(Abdullah Abdullah)被视为代表着少数民族塔吉克族。第一轮选举中，得票排在三四位的两位竞选人有不少选票来自普什图族地区。