<hdr>The World Factbook 1994: Honduras<nl>Government</hdr><body>
<list>
<item><hi format=bold>Names:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>conventional long form:</hi> Republic of Honduras
<item>• <hi format=ital>conventional short form:</hi> Honduras
<item>• <hi format=ital>local long form:</hi> Republica de Honduras
<item>• <hi format=ital>local short form:</hi> Honduras
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Digraph:</hi> HO
<item><hi format=bold>Type:</hi> republic
<item><hi format=bold>Capital:</hi> Tegucigalpa
<item><hi format=bold>Administrative divisions:</hi> 18 departments (departamentos, singular—departamento); 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
<item><hi format=bold>Independence:</hi> 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
<item><hi format=bold>National holiday:</hi> Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
<item><hi format=bold>Constitution:</hi> 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982
<item><hi format=bold>Legal system:</hi> rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
<item><hi format=bold>Suffrage:</hi> 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
<item><hi format=bold>Executive branch:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>chief of state and head of government:</hi> President Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (since 27 January 1994); election last held on 28 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997); results—Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (PLH) 53%, Oswaldo RAMOS Soto (PNH) 41%, other 6%
<item><hi format=bold>National Congress (Congreso Nacional):</hi> elections last held on 27 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997); results—PNH 53%, PLH 41%, PDCH 1.0%, PINU-SD 2.5%, other 2.5%; seats—(134 total) PNH 55, PLH 77, PINU-SD 2
<item><hi format=bold>Judicial branch:</hi> Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)
<item><hi format=bold>Political parties and leaders:</hi> Liberal Party (PLH), Rafael PINEDA Ponce, president; National Party (PN) has two factions: Movimiento Nacional de Reivindication Callejista (Monarca), Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS, and Oswaldista, Oswaldo RAMOS Soto, presidential candidate; National Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), Olban VALLADARES, president; Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president
<item><hi format=bold>Other political or pressure groups:</hi> National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH); Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP); Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH); National Union of Campesinos (UNC); General Workers Confederation (CGT); United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH); Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH); Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)
<item>• <hi format=ital>consulate(s) general:</hi> Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
<item>• <hi format=ital>consulate(s):</hi> Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville
<item><hi format=bold>Flag:</hi> three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band