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O 111359Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
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UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001281 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM HO
SUBJECT: TFH01: FEMALE REPRESENTATION DECREASES IN CONGRESS 
 
REF: TEGUCIGALPA 1267 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary.  Election results issued by the Supreme 
Electoral Tribunal (TSE) showed that the National Congress 
will maintain its traditional plurality of male 
representatives.  The next 128-seat legislature will likely 
contain 25 congresswomen, comprising 19.53 percent of the 
total congressional seats; this is a decrease from the 31 
congresswomen elected in the 2005 general election.  In 2000, 
the Law of Equal Opportunities for Women established a goal 
of female political representation at 30 percent, a figure 
which has not been reached since the law's introduction.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  According to figures issued by the Honduran National 
Institute of Statistics (INE), the current population of 
Honduras is estimated at 7,876,197 with 3,993,466 females and 
3,882,731 males.  In the 2001 and 2005 general elections, 51 
percent of eligible voters were female.  Despite the 
population's female majority, prior to the 2005 general 
election, male representatives consistently held more than 90 
percent of the seats in Congress. 
 
¶3.  (U)  Congressional results released by the TSE on 
December 8 (see reftel) showed that the next legislature will 
likely include 25 congresswomen, garnering 19.53 percent of 
the seats in Congress.  This marks a decrease from the 31 
female representatives elected in 2005 who held 24.22 percent 
of the congressional seats.  However, overall female 
representation in the legislature has steadily increased 
since the nation's first democratic general election in 1981. 
 A report from the National Women's Institute of Honduras 
(INAM) imparts that in 1981 congresswomen comprised just 2.4 
percent of the Congress, while from 1985 to 2001 between 6-10 
percent of the congressional seats were held by women. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Female representation in the next legislature will 
consist of: 15 National Party congresswomen, eight Liberal 
Party congresswomen, and one congresswoman each from the 
Christian Democratic Party and the Democratic Unification 
Party.  None of the female candidates from the Social 
Democratic Innovation and Unity Party (PINU) were elected to 
Congress.  Only ten of the elected representatives were 
incumbent candidates.  Female candidates appeared to fare 
better in areas with a large urban population, as 14 of the 
elected congresswomen originated from the populous 
departments of Francisco Morazan and Cortes.  Of the total 
628 candidates on the congressional ballots, 191 of the 
candidates were female, comprising 30.41 percent of the 
field.  The three small parties had a higher concentration of 
female candidates than the two major parties; the proportion 
of female candidates on each party's ballots translated to: 
25 percent for the National Party, 21.88 percent for the 
Liberal Party, 35.16 percent for the Christian Democratic 
Party, 36.22 percent for the PINU Party, and 34.19 percent 
for the Democratic Unification Party. 
 
¶5.  (U)  The Law of Equal Opportunities for Women, signed 
into effect on April 11, 2000, established a goal of female 
political representation at 30 percent.  Article 81 of the 
law lists the popularly elected positions considered in 
determining the representation of women; these positions 
include: congressional representatives and alternate 
congressional representatives, representatives to the Central 
American Parliament, mayors, vice-mayors, and elected 
positions in city councils.  The 30 percent figure was 
established as a minimum base, that would "progressively 
increase until equity between men and women is achieved." 
Since the law's introduction, the baseline goal has not been 
met, and the law provides no inducements for success or 
sanctions for failure to reach its desired proportion. 
LLORENS