Politics of Honduras

  takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Honduras is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the National Congress of Honduras. The party system is dominated by the conservative National Party of Honduras and the liberal Liberal Party of Honduras. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

The 1981 Constitution of Honduras provides for a fairly strong executive in some ways, but many powers conceded to the executive elsewhere, are designated duties of the unicameral National Congress. A judiciary is appointed by the National Congress.
That constitution delineates mechanisms for amending it, but it also declares eight articles immutable and unalterable and not subject to change, which include a guarantees of a republican form of government, and an explicit prohibition against presidential candidacy of anyone who has been president previously at any time or for any reason.
The constitution also provides for an independent organ to supervise and implement elections, the Superior Electoral Tribunal. Another organ similarly independent of the three main branches of government a Special Court for Resolution of Conflicts Between Branches of Government.

Political Parties

For other political parties see List of political parties in Honduras. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Honduras.

Honduras has five registered political parties:

• Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras—PLH), founded 1891.
• National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras—PNH), founded 1918. Dominated Honduran politics from 1933-1957.
• Democratic Unification Party (Partido Unificación Democrática—UD or PUD), founded in 1992 at the end of the Cold war when formerly clandestine leftist political parties were permitted to function openly. Four merged to form the PUD.
• Christian Democratic Party of Honduras (Partido Demócrata-Christiano—DC), founded 1968.
• Innovation and Unity Party (Partido Innovación Nacional y Social Demócrata—PINU-SD), moderate leftist, social democratic, founded 1970.