Voting for God

"If you do not vote in the upcoming elections God will punish you." That's what Algerians have been told by a prominent突出 Muslim cleric教士, Sheikh Chemseddine Bouroubi.

Parliamentary議員 elections are being held舉行 in May and it's believed many Algerians are going to abstain from棄權 a vote they view as irrelevant無關. The authorities are so concerned about a low turnout投票率 that the state phone operator has been sending out text messages urging督促 people to cast投 their ballot選票.

Sheikh Bouroubi said Algerians should vote to maintain維護 stability穩定 and prevent防止 foreigners from fomenting煽動 revolution. Conditions in Algeria are similar to that in other Arab countries when it comes to widespread普遍 poverty貧困, corruption腐敗 and high youth unemployment失業率 and protests calling for democratic change did take place last year, but they did not turn into a full-scale大規模 uprising起義.

This vote is being seen as被看作是 a test of the reforms promised by the government of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to stem阻止,攔住 further進一步 discontent不滿. He has approved允許 over twenty new political parties and says the country is moving gradually逐步 towards走向 democracy.

But Parliament is widely廣泛 considered a rubber stamp橡皮圖章 body. Power is concentrated集中 in the president, who has ruled since 1999 and the military has a key role in a country which was until last year under emergency law緊急狀態法.

this text is from bbc learning english

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2012/04/120427_witn_voting_for_god.shtml