VOA常速英语:Supporting Accountable Government(翻译)

Something remarkable happened in the Seychelles recently.In parliamentary elections, a coalition of opposition parties won the majority of votes, ending the ruling party’s four-decade hold on power.Bowing to the will of the people, President James Michel announced his resignation saying,"the time has come to hand over the reins of power to a new leader."His decision to resign was in response to a constitutional amendment passed earlier this year limiting future presidents to two terms in office.
最近在塞舌尔发生了一些意义非凡的事情。在议会选举中，反对党联盟赢得了多数选票，结束了执政党40年的执政生涯。迫于人民的意愿，总统詹姆斯·米歇尔宣布辞职时说：“是时候将权力的缰绳移交给一位新的领导人了。”他辞职的决定响应了今年年初通过的一项宪法修正案，该修正案规定了将未来总统的任期限制为两届。

In a high-level panel discussion at the United Nations moderated by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski, participants agreed that respecting constitutionally-mandated term limits is directly related to a country’s peace, security, stability, and future prosperity.Participants also observed that enforcing term limits is only part of the equation -- to build a genuinely sustainable democratic future and to counter many leaders’ claims that they are "indispensable" to the development of their country, respect for term limits must also be accompanied by respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as strong democratic institutions.
在一次联合国高级别小组讨论会上，该会由主管民主、人权、劳工事务的助理国务卿汤姆·马利诺夫斯基主持，参会者们一致认为遵守宪法规定的任期限制直接与一国的和平、安全、稳定和未来繁荣有关。参会者们还发现强制执行任期限制仅仅是等式的一部分——为的是建立一个真正可持续的民主未来，同时也是为了反驳许多领导人的主张，即他们认为自己对本国的发展起着不可或缺的作用。尊重任期限制必须伴随着尊重基本权利和自由、以及对强烈的民主意愿的尊重。

A new generation of citizens that believes that leaders should not profit at the expense of their country is rising up around the globe.As President Obama stated in an address to the African Union, “Nobody should be president for a life.And your country is better off if you have new blood and new ideas.”The U.S. supports citizen voices around the world that recognize countries only prosper when people are truly free to choose their own leaders.
认为领导人不应以损害自己的国家为代价来攫取利益的新一代公民正在全球范围内崛起。正如奥巴马总统在对非盟的讲话中说的那样：“没有人应该终生为总统。如果你有新的血液和理念，你的国家就会变得更好。”美国支持全世界公民的声音，承认当人们真正自由选择自己的领导人时，他们的国家就必定会繁荣昌盛。