“Vote for renewal(更新，革新),” urge giant billboards as Kazakhstan heads into(即将进入，迈向) a parliamentary election on August 23rd. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the president, calls this a turning point in the building of a “new Kazakhstan”—shorthand for a political reset that began after civil unrest demanding political change had left at least 238 people dead in 2022.(托卡耶夫称此为“新哈萨克斯坦”建设的转折点，该词是政治重启的简称，始于2022年骚乱。)
随着哈萨克斯坦于8月23日迎来议会选举，巨大的广告牌敦促人们“投票支持革新”。总统卡西姆-若马尔特·托卡耶夫称这是建设“新哈萨克斯坦”的转折点——“新哈萨克斯坦”是政治重启的简称，这场重启始于2022年要求政治变革的民间骚乱，当时至少造成238人死亡。
At first glance(乍一看，初看), much about this election is indeed new. Taking place under a new constitution, it will deliver a parliament with a new structure and a new name, certain to be dominated by a new party. This, ostensibly(表面上，貌似), is the reforming “new Kazakhstan” in action. But scratch the surface(触及表面，浅尝辄止) and the political trappings(装饰，标志性物品) of the old Kazakhstan—associated with Nursultan Nazarbayev, Mr Tokayev’s long-serving predecessor and discredited(名誉扫地的，失去信任的) political patron—emerge. The newly formed Justice party that is set to win a big parliamentary majority is in fact a revamped version of the old ruling party that dominated for decades.(新成立的正义党实为旧执政党的翻版。) And parliament will still be a rubber-stamp(橡皮图章，形式上的批准) affair, because no genuine opposition parties are being allowed to run.
乍一看，这次选举确实有很多新意。在新宪法下举行，将产生一个结构新颖、名称全新的议会，而且肯定会被一个新政党主导。这表面上就是改革中的“新哈萨克斯坦”在行动。但深入探究，旧哈萨克斯坦的政治装饰——与纳扎尔巴耶夫（托卡耶夫长期任职的前任和名誉扫地的政治靠山）相关——便浮现出来。新成立的正义党预计将赢得议会绝对多数，实际上不过是统治数十年的旧执政党的翻版。议会仍将沦为橡皮图章，因为没有任何真正的反对党被允许参选。
Pluralism(多元主义，多元性) is thriving in Kazakhstan, so Mr Tokayev said recently—only days after Amangeldy Dzhakhin, an opposition leader, had been jailed for seven years on spurious(虚假的，伪造的) charges of extremism. His predecessor suffered the same fate(遭遇同样命运), and it is not just politicians who are targeted. Reporters and social-media personalities have also been variously imprisoned, slapped with(被施加，被强加) travel bans and barred from doing journalism on flimsy-looking(看似站不住脚的) charges. In a blatantly(公然地，明目张胆地) political case, a satirical post poking fun at(取笑，嘲讽) the president recently landed a YouTuber behind bars.
“哈萨克斯坦的多元主义正在蓬勃发展，”托卡耶夫近日如此表示——而就在几天前，反对派领袖阿曼格尔迪·贾欣因莫须有的极端主义指控被判入狱七年。他的前任也遭遇同样命运，而且受针对的不只是政客。记者和社交媒体名人也被以各种方式监禁、禁止出境，并以看似站不住脚的指控被禁止从事新闻工作。在一起公然的政治案件中，一则嘲讽总统的讽刺帖子最近让一名YouTube博主锒铛入狱。