VOA慢速英語：泰國公主宣布參加總理競選

Thai Princess Enters Race for Prime Minister

泰國公主宣布參加總理競選

The older sister of Thailand's king says she will run for prime minister in elections to be held next month.

泰國國王的姐姐表示，她將在下月舉行的大選中競選總理。

The move by Princess Ubolratana Mahidol breaks a long-held Thai tradition of keeping the royal family independent from politics. She is the sister of Thailand's current King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and the oldest daughter of former King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

烏汶叻公主此舉打破了泰國長期以來一直保持王室獨立于政治的傳統(tǒng)。她是現(xiàn)任泰王瑪哈·哇集拉隆功的姐姐，也是前國王普密蓬·阿杜德的長女。

On Friday, King Maha criticized his sister's action. He said it "conflicts with the country's traditions, customs and culture."

周五，瑪哈國王批評了他姐姐的這一舉動。他說，這跟國家的傳統(tǒng)、習俗以及文化沖突。

The 67-year-old princess was nominated Friday by the opposition Thai Raksa Chart Party. The party is linked to former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra. Each had served as Thailand's prime minister until they were ousted.

這位67歲的公主周五被反對黨派泰護國黨提名為候選人。該黨派跟前泰國總理他信·西瓦那以及英拉·西瓦那存在關(guān)聯(lián)。這兩人都擔任過泰國總理，直到他們被趕下臺。

The Thai Raksa Chart Party was launched in November by relatives and supporters of the Shinawatras. Parties linked to the Shinawatras have won every Thai election in recent years.

泰護國黨是由西瓦那家族的親屬以及支持者于去年11月發(fā)起成立的。與西瓦那家族有關(guān)的黨派近年來贏得了每次泰國大選。

The family still remains popular in many areas, especially in the rural northeastern provinces.

這個家族在泰國許多地區(qū)仍然很受歡迎，尤其是在泰國東北部的農(nóng)村地區(qū)。

Princess Ubolratana currently does not have the same official standing in Thailand as other members of the royal family. She had to give up her highest royal titles more than 40 years ago when she married an American man and moved to the United States. However, she is still very popular in Thailand and is commonly called and treated as a princess.

烏汶叻公主目前在泰國不具備跟其他王室成員同等的官方地位。她在40多年前嫁給一位美國男子并搬到美國時，不得不放棄了她的最高王室頭銜。然而她在泰國仍然很受歡迎，通常被人們稱之為公主，并像公主一樣對待。

Because Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, the king and other royal family members are not supposed to get directly involved in politics. Traditionally, Thailand's royal family has had close ties to the military.

因為泰國是一個君主立憲制國家，國王和其他王室成員不應該直接參與政治。傳統(tǒng)上，泰國王室和軍方關(guān)系密切。

Princess Ubolratana confirmed her decision to run in a message on Instagram, saying she desires to "lead the country to prosperity."

烏汶叻公主在Instagram上發(fā)布消息證實了她的決定，稱希望“帶領(lǐng)泰國走向繁榮。”

Thailand's current prime minister is Prayuth Chan-o-cha. He is a former army chief who led the 2014 military coup that ousted the country's last elected government, led by Yingluck Shinawatra.

泰國現(xiàn)任總理是巴育·詹歐差(Prayuth Chan-o-cha)。他是前陸軍總司令，領(lǐng)導了2014年軍事政變，推翻了該國由英拉領(lǐng)導的最后一屆民選政府。

Prayuth also accepted on Friday the nomination as a candidate for prime minister from his military-backed party. He has been considered the front-runner for the March 24 elections. Observers say this is because his government has made changes to the constitution and election rules that make it difficult for political parties without military backing to win.

巴育周五也接受了軍方支持黨派的提名成為總理候選人。他也被視為3月24日大選的領(lǐng)跑者。觀察家們表示，這是因為他的政府修改了憲法和選舉規(guī)則，使得沒有軍方支持的政黨難以獲勝。

Some political experts say Ubolratana's entry could greatly change the campaign because she is a different kind of candidate. The Thai royal family enjoys a very high level of popularity and respect among the public. Thailand also enforces strict laws banning criticism of the king or other royal family members.

一些政治專家表示，烏汶叻公主的參與可能會極大地改變這次選舉活動，因為她是一個不同類型的候選人。泰國王室在民眾中享有極高的知名度和尊重。泰國還執(zhí)行嚴格的法律，禁止批評國王或其他王室成員。

Allen Hicken is a political scientist at the University of Michigan who specializes in Southeast Asian studies. He called the decision a "game changer" for the race. "In the event Thaksin-aligned parties win the election, it makes it very difficult for the military and royalists to contest, protest, or seek to overturn the result," Hicken said.

艾倫·?？?Allen Hicken)是密歇根大學專攻東南亞研究的政治學家。他稱該決定改變了這場大選的游戲規(guī)則。他說：“如果與他信結(jié)盟的政黨贏得大選，那么軍隊和保王派很難提出爭辯、抗議、或是試圖推翻選舉。”

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布萊恩·林恩報道。