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El Salvador: El salvador Government Profile 2012

2012/03/09

El salvador Goverment Profile 2012

Under the constitution of 1983, El Salvador is a republic governed by a popularly elected president, who serves a five-year term. The president may not serve two consecutive terms. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly, whose 84 members are elected for three-year terms by popular vote. Justice is administered by a supreme court and lesser tribunals.

For administrative purposes, El Salvador is divided into 14 departments, which are subdivided into 262 municipios (townships). The president appoints a governor for each department. Each municipio is governed by a council. The council members are elected to three-year terms by the people.

The country has six major political parties: the extremely conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), the conservative National Conciliation Party, the evangelical Unity Movement, the moderate Christian Democratic Party, the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), and the leftist Democratic Convergence.

Country name

Conventional long form:

Republic of El Salvador

Conventional short form:

El Salvador

Local long form:

Republica de El Salvador

Local short form:

El Salvador

Government type:

Republic

Capital

Name:

San Salvador

Geographic coordinates:

13 42 N, 89 12 W

Time difference:

UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, San Vicente, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, Usulutan

Independence:

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution:

20-déc.-83

Legal system:

based on civil and Roman law with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state:

President Mauricio FUNES Cartagena (since 1 June 2009); Vice President Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN (since 1 June 2009); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Mauricio FUNES Cartagena (since 1 June 2009); Vice President Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN (since 1 June 2009)

Cabinet:

Council of Ministers selected by the president

Elections:

president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 15 March 2009 (next to be held in March 2014)

Election results:

Mauricio FUNES Cartagena elected president; percent of vote - Mauricio FUNES Cartagena 51.3%, Rodrigo AVILA 48.7%

Legislative branch:

unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 18 January 2009 (next to be held in March 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FMLN 35, ARENA 32, PCN 11, PDC 5, CD 1

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (15 judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly; the 15 judges are assigned to four Supreme Court chambers - constitutional, civil, penal, and administrative conflict)

Political parties and leaders :

Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Rodolfo PARKER]; Democratic Convergence or CD [Hector DADA HIREZI] (formerly United Democratic Center or CDU); Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Medardo GONZALEZ]; National Conciliation Party or PCN [Ciro CRUZ ZEPEDA]; Nationalist Republican Alliance or ARENA [Rodrigo AVILA]; Popular Social Christian Party or PPSC [Rene AGUILUZ]; Revolutionary Democratic Front or FDR [Julio Cesar HERNANDEZ Carcamo]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

labor organizations - Electrical Industry Union of El Salvador or SIES; Federation of the Construction Industry, Similar Transport and other activities, or FESINCONTRANS; National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers or CNTS; National Union of Salvadoran Workers or UNTS; Port Industry Union of El Salvador or SIPES; Salvadoran Union of Ex-Petrolleros and Peasant Workers or USEPOC; Salvadoran Workers Central or CTS; Workers Union of Electrical Corporation or STCEL; business organizations - National Association of Small Enterprise or ANEP; Salvadoran Assembly Industry Association or ASIC; Salvadoran Industrial Association or ASI

International organization participation:

BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band

El Salvador News

AFGHANISTAN: UNWTO: International tourism – strongest half-year results since 2010
AFGHANISTAN: Higher earning Why a university degree is worth more in some countries than others
ARGENTINA: China looks to deepen ties with Latin America
AFGHANISTAN: Global growth will be disappointing in 2016: IMF's Lagarde
EL SALVADOR: Education beyond schools: Experiences from El Salvador
AFGHANISTAN: Revised IMF forecasts signal gloom on global economic outlook

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