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Everything about this election is huge, the scale and numbers involved are mindblowing.
关于这次选举的一切都可以形容是“巨大的”，涉及的规模和数字令人震惊。
More people live in India than in any other country in the world,
印度的人口比世界上任何一个国家都多，
and nearly 1 billion people are eligible to vote in the country's election, with 969 million adults able to choose who they want in charge of the country for the next 5 years.
并且有近10亿人有资格在该国的选举中投票，有9.69亿成年人可以选择他们希望的未来5年的国家领导人。
That's nearly 1/8 of the world's entire population.
这个人数几乎是世界总人口的1/8。
Now, to give you an idea of the size:
关于这一数量，我来给你个概念:
if you add together the populations of the UK, USA, Russia, Japan, Brazil, France and Belgium, that's still fewer people than those able to vote in this election.
把英国、美国、俄罗斯、日本、巴西、法国和比利时的人口都加一起，还是比能在这次选举中投票的人少。
And in an election of this scale, it all takes time.
这种规模的选举，是非常耗时的。
About 6 weeks or 44 days from start to finish, with results announced on 4 June.
选举从开始到结束共计约6周或44天，结果于6月4日公布。
From huge cities to tiny villages, at least one polling booth is set up within 2km of every eligible voter.
为服务每个合格选民，从大城市到小村庄，每2公里内至少有一个投票站。
So, while most polling booths are in schools, colleges and community centres, unusual locations are sometimes needed, too, like mountaintops or forests.
因此，虽然大多数投票站设在学校、大学和社区中心，但有时也需要在一些不寻常的地方，比如山顶或森林设立。
Teams of polling officials will travel miles across treacherous terrain to some of the most remote areas of India, just to set up a polling booth for a single voter.
负责投票事宜的团队会跋涉数英里，穿越险峻的地形，前往印度一些最偏远的地区，只为为一位选民设立一个投票站。
But despite the efforts to make sure everyone can vote, not everyone thinks this election is fair.
但是，尽管努力确保每个人都能投票，可并不是每个人都认为这次选举是公平的。
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hoping to win a third term in a row, but opposition parties say India face the loss of many freedoms if he stays in power.
总理纳伦德拉·莫迪希望赢得连续的第三个任期，但反对党表示，如果他继续执政，印度将面临许多自由的丧失。
His critics say that his government has been too strict with those who disagree with his views,
莫迪的批评人士指出，他的政府对那些不同意他观点的人过于严苛，
that he also favours the rich, and that under him, there has been a rise in violence and discrimination against Muslims and other minorities.
此外，他还偏袒富人，并且在他的统治下，针对穆斯林和其他少数民族的暴力和歧视事件均有所上升。
Mr. Modi has said he works to improve the lives of all Indians, regardless of their background.
莫迪曾表示，他致力于改善所有印度人的生活，无论他们的背景如何。
His supporters point to his government's projects to help people including providing free food grains, building toilets and opening bank accounts for millions.
而莫迪的支持者也指出了其政府助力民众的项目，包括提供免费粮食、建造厕所和为数百万人开设银行账户。
