partamento); Atlantida,
Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco
Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz,
Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro

Independence:

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution:

11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times

Legal system:

rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of
English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning
Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system;
accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27
January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27
January 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27
January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27
January 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term;
election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November
2009)
election results: Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales elected president -
49.8%, Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa 46.1%, other 4.1%

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats;
members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their
party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November
2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL
62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are
elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)

Political parties and leaders:

Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Felicito AVILA]; Democratic
Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Liberal Party or PL [Patricia
RODAS]; National Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge AQUILAR
Paredes]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Porfirio LOBO]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH;
Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of
Popular Organizations or CCOP; Gen