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| | ==Politics== | | ==Politics== |
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| - | Suffrage is universal and compulsory at age twenty-one. All voting is done by direct, equal, and secret ballot. Elections are internationally supervised and are generally considered to be free and fair.
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| | ===The Federal Congress=== | | ===The Federal Congress=== |
| | The legislative branch of Central America is the bicameral Federal Congress (''Congreso Federal''), or Congress (''Congreso''), comprising the Chamber of Deputies (''Cámara de Diputados'') and the Chamber of Senators (''Cámara de Senadores''). Both houses convene in the National Palace (''Palacio Nacional''), located in the capital, Amapala. | | The legislative branch of Central America is the bicameral Federal Congress (''Congreso Federal''), or Congress (''Congreso''), comprising the Chamber of Deputies (''Cámara de Diputados'') and the Chamber of Senators (''Cámara de Senadores''). Both houses convene in the National Palace (''Palacio Nacional''), located in the capital, Amapala. |
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| | *To perform such other functions as authorized by the Constitution and by the laws. | | *To perform such other functions as authorized by the Constitution and by the laws. |
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| - | ===The President===
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| - | The executive branch is headed by the President (''Presidente''), who serves as chief of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
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| - | The President is popularly elected by an absolute majority to a term of four years; in the event that no candidate obtains an absolute majority, a run-off election between the two candidates that obtained the largest number of votes. There are no term limits, but consecutive re-election is not permitted.
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| - | The Constitution of Central America does not provide for a Vice-President. In the event of the President's death, the Minister of the Government (the equivalent of the Attorney-General in the United States) succeeds him.
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| - | The President's official residence is the ''Casa Presidencial'' (English: "Presidential House").
| + | be at least 25 years of age, a Central American citizen by birth (born of either a Central American father or mother, or both), in full enjoyment of his political and civic rights, and they must have been resident in the country for the previous five years. |
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| - | ====Requirements to hold office====
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| - | To be eligible to run for President, a candidate is required to:
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| - | *Be a natural-born citizen of Central America.
| + | has 120 members, directly elected by popular vote from |
| - | *Be 30 years of age or older.
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| - | *Be in full enjoyment of his political and civic rights.
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| - | *Have been resident in the country for at least five years prior to the date of the election.
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| - | *Not be an official of any church or religious organization.
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| - | *Not be an officer of the armed forces or law enforcement, unless they relinquish their position at least twelve months prior to the election.
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| - | *Not be in active military service during the six months prior to the election.
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| - | *Not be a presidential appointee, Minister, Vice-Minister, or other member of the Cabinet, a magistrate or judge, or a mayor, unless they resign from their position at least six months prior to the election.
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| - | ====Powers, Duties, and Functions====
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| - | *To direct the general policy of the State and represent it.
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| - | *To maintain the independence, honor, integrity, and inviolability of Central America.
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| - | *To maintain the peace and security of Central America and repel any attack or foreign aggression.
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| - | *To execute and enforce the Constitution, treaties and conventions, laws, and other legal dispositions.
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| - | *To issue decrees, regulations, and resolutions pursuant to law.
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| - | *To sanction, veto, publish, and promulgate laws passed by the Federal Congress.
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| - | *To participate in the introduction of legislaton to the Federal Congress by the cabinet secretaries.
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| - | *To address the Federal Congress at any time, and to adjourn each ordinary legislative session.
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| - | *To call the Federal Congress into special session, or propose an extension of the ordinary session.
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| - | *To freely appoint and remove the secretaries of his cabinet, and other posts whose appointments are not assigned to other officials.
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| - | *To direct foreign policy.
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| - | *To conclude treaties and conventions, to be ratified by the Federal Congress.
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| - | *To appoint the heads of diplomatic and consular missions.
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| - | *To receive heads of state and diplomatic representatives.
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| - | *To conduct economic and financial policy.
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| - | *To dictate extraordinary measures on economic and financial matters when required by the national interest (which must be reported to the Federal Congress).
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| - | *To formulate the National Development Plan, discussed in the cabinet and approved of by the Federal Congress, and to then direct and implement that plan.
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| - | *To negotiate international loans, seeking the approval of the Federal Congress as required.
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| - | *To confer military and civilian decorations.
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| - | *To pardon and commute criminal sentences.
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| - | *To declare war and peace in the event of congressional recess (although the Federal Congress must be called into session immediately on such occasion).
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| - | *To allow or deny, with the authorization of the Federal Congress, troops of another country passage through Central America.
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| - | *To allow, with the authorization of the Federal Congress, the output of Central American troops to serve in foreign territory.
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| - | *To perform such other functions as authorized by the Constitution and by the law.
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| - | ====The Council of Ministers====
| + | President's term of office is four years; consecutive re-election not allowed. |
| - | The Council of Ministers is a cabinet of advisors to the President, comprising Ministers appointed by him. At present, the following individuals are members of the Council of Ministers:
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| - | {| border="1" align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
| + | Voting is compulsory; those twenty-one years of age and older are allowed to vote. |
| - | |-style="background:#15317E; font-size: 95%;"
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| - | ! <font color="white">Portfolio</font> !! <font color="white">Minister</font>
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| - | |Minister of Agriculture and Livestock<br>''Ministro de Agricultura y Ganadería'' || Rafael Ocón Mora
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| - | |Minister of Defense<br>''Ministro de Defensa'' || Julio Salazar Ramirez
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| - | |Minister of Economy, Industry, and Commerce<br>''Ministro de Economía, Industria y Comercio'' || Rómulo Martínez Hidalgo
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| - | |Minister of Foreign Relations<br>''Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores'' || Roberto de Paula Hernández
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| - | |Minister of Finance and Public Credit<br>''Ministro de Hacienda y Crédito Público'' || Tomás Caldera Guitierrez
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| - | |Minister of the Government<br>''Ministro de la Gobernación'' || Rubén Urtecho Vegas
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| - | |Minister of Labor<br>''Ministro del Trabajo'' || Leonardo Gallardo Ugarte
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| - | |Minister of Public Education<br>''Ministro de Educación Pública'' || César López Sánchez
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| - | |Minister of Public Health<br>''Ministro de Salud Pública'' || José Rafael Espada
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| - | |Minister of Public Works<br>''Ministro de Obras Públicas'' || Amilcar Guerrero Cerezo
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| - | |}
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| - | ===The Federal Supreme Court===
| + | Supreme Court of Federal Justice; Greater Courts of Appeals |
| - | The highest court in Central America is the nine-member Federal Supreme Court, which functions as a court of last resort, hears cases against senior government officials, supervises and regulates elections, arbitrates labor-management disputes, and reviews the constitutionality of federal laws. The judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches. All tribunal and court hearings are open to the public.
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| - | The members of the Federal Supreme Court are chosen by the Federal Congress and serve for terms of six years; there are no term limits, and both consecutive and non-consecutive terms are allowed. It is presided over by the President of the Federal Supreme Court, who is chosen by a simple majority of the Court from among its members.
| + | Senators serve six year terms; one-third of the senators are renewed every two years. Deputies serve four year terms; one-half of them are renewed every two years. |
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| - | To be eligible for membership in the Federal Supreme Court, a person must:
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| - | *Be a natural-born citizen of Central America.
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| - | *Be 35 years of age or older, but not more than 60 years of age.
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| - | *Be in full enjoyment of his political and civic rights.
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| - | *Be of proven honesty and morality.
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| - | *Have been resident in the country for at least five years prior to the date of the election.
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| - | *Have practiced law in Central America for a minimum of ten years
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| - | *Not be an official of any church or religious organization.
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| - | *Not be an officer of the armed forces or law enforcement, unless they relinquish their position at least twelve months prior to the election.
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| - | *Not be in active military service during the six months prior to the election.
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| - | *Not be a presidential appointee, Minister, Vice-Minister, or other member of the Cabinet, a magistrate or judge, or a mayor, unless they resign from their position at least six months prior to the election.
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| | [[Category:Nations|Central America, Greater Republic of]] | | [[Category:Nations|Central America, Greater Republic of]] |
