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Although Honduras has made strides toward strengthening its democracy since transitioning from military rule in 1982, abiding corruption, impunity and inequality in the hemisphere’s third-poorest country have undermined citizen confidence that Honduran institutions are governing for the benefit of all. Public frustration with the performance of Honduran democracy has fueled calls for a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. In 2009, efforts by President Manuel Zelaya to convene a constituent assembly – seen by political opponents as a maneuver to permit presidential reelection barred by the constitution – precipitated a bitter constitutional crisis culminating in a coup d’etat, which resulted in Honduras’ suspension from the Organization of American States. Presidential elections in November 2009, convoked before the coup and preceded by serious human rights violations, led to the overwhelming election of President Porfirio Lobo.
Political Background
Although Honduras has made strides toward strengthening its democracy since transitioning from military rule in 1982, abiding corruption, impunity and inequality in the hemisphere’s third-poorest country have undermined citizen confidence that Honduran institutions are governing for the benefit of all. Public frustration with the performance of Honduran democracy has fueled calls for a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. In 2009, efforts by President Manuel Zelaya to convene a constituent assembly – seen by political opponents as a maneuver to permit presidential reelection barred by the constitution – precipitated a bitter constitutional crisis culminating in a coup d’etat, which resulted in Honduras’ suspension from the Organization of American States. Presidential elections in November 2009, convoked before the coup and preceded by serious human rights violations, led to the overwhelming election of President Porfirio Lobo. Lobo endeavored to establish a national unity government, backed a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and eventually welcomed former President Zelaya home from exile. Nonetheless, Hondurans remain deeply polarized even after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report on the events surrounding the coup.
The new government has cautiously begun addressing the country’s continued polarization, political violence and impunity. A new law establishes a mechanism for constitutional change through referenda, and a “security tax” aims to boost funding for the criminal justice system to fight impunity. A key provision of the Cartagena Accords that brokered Zelaya’s return called for the Lobo government to facilitate the transformation of the National Popular Resistance Front into a political party, Liberty and Renewal (Libertad y Refundación), which is preparing to compete in future elections and continuing to call for a constituent assembly. Repeated surveys, including NDI’s 2011 study on barriers to political participation, confirm high levels of citizen distrust in the country’s political institutions against the backdrop of extremely high crime, continuing reports of political violence and poverty rates of more than fifty percent.
NDI Activities
Promoting Reconciliation and Leadership
To foster reconciliation and dialogue, NDI established a field office in Tegucigalpa in February 2011. The Institute is working to broaden political parties’ engagement with citizens and civil society and to enhance the political participation of groups that have been marginalized from participating in politics or have faced repression. NDI has held a series of nine “democracy dialogues” in La Ceiba, San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa to facilitate respectful discourse on public policy reforms and to promote reconciliation and inclusion. One dialogue event, co-sponsored with the United Nations Development Programme, focused specifically on promoting women’s political participation by familiarizing women political activists with a proposal currently before the congress that would require women candidates to make up fifty percent of the candidate lists parties present for election.
In August 2011, NDI released a study on barriers to political participation in Honduras based on a public opinion survey conducted with local group Making Democracy (Hagamos Democracia, HD) at the beginning of the year. The study found low levels of citizen confidence in most Honduran institutions — as well as a persistent deficit in women’s political knowledge and participation — and attributed citizen distrust to the political crisis, the coup and the demoralizing effects of pervasive corruption. The full study includes comparative analysis with other countries in Central America.
NDI is working across the full spectrum of political groups to share international experiences and best practices for building effective, representative and transparent political organizations. The Institute is supporting a youth leadership academy for emerging leaders from new and established political parties and civil society groups, which is also open to participants from the National Popular Resistance Front.
Election Monitoring and Reform
The 2005 presidential election highlighted the shortcomings of the Honduran electoral system, particularly the transmission of election results. In response, NDI began working in Honduras in 2008 to help safeguard the integrity of the 2009 election process.
NDI supported Hagamos Democracia in observing the 2008 primary and 2009 general election. With NDI assistance, HD deployed volunteer election monitors to a random sample of over 1,000 polling stations in 95 percent of the country’s municipalities to conduct a parallel vote tabulation (PVT or “quick count”). The observation proved statistically valid and reliable on the results of the presidential election and on the quality of the election day process. HD accurately projected the 50 percent turnout, and Lobo’s victory, by 8:30 p.m. on election night.
NDI also deployed an international assessment mission for the 2009 general elections consisting of 21 experts from the United States, Latin America and Europe. The delegation’s reports noted that, while election authorities had taken some meaningful steps to increase transparency, further reforms were needed to update the voter registry, which includes many Hondurans who have emigrated or passed away, and to overcome the country’s divisions. The full report is available here.
Contact Information
For more information about these programs, use our contact form or contact:
Washington, D.C.
Samuel Downing, Program Officer
sdowning@ndi.org
Patrick Elliot, Program Officer
pelliot@ndi.org
Tegucigalpa
Salvador Romero Ballivián, Resident Director
sromero@ndi.org
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