The Congress of Honduras has appointed 15 justices to the country’s Supreme Court, following a month-long sequence of failed attempts to reach a settlement on the matter.
The court will now have six judges backed by President Xiomara Castro’s progressive Libre Party, down from the ruling coalition’s original proposal of nominating eight out of 15 members. The agreement also gave five seats to the opposition National Party (down from a controlling stake of eight) and four to the Liberal Party.
The court will also have a female majority, with eight women justices and seven men. Additionally, an indigenous Garífuna judge was appointed to one of the seats in an unprecedented move, representing the third-largest ethnic minority in Honduras.
The new members will serve until 2030. President Castro congratulated lawmakers for electing a “multiparty and multicultural” court that has “a vision of gender and transparency.” Rebeca Raquel Obando was appointed as the new chief justice.
Felicito al @Congreso_HND y al Presidente @lredondo, por la elección de la nueva CSJ, @PJdeHonduras; multipartidista, pluricultural, con visión de género y transparencia! Justicia Honduras!
— Xiomara Castro de Zelaya (@XiomaraCastroZ) February 17, 2023
The latest events were celebrated by the U.S., with ambassador Laura Dogu speaking on Friday from capital Tegucigalpa. “We recognize the historical significance of the selection of the first Garífuna representative at the court and the selection of a majority of women. We hope to work with this new court to benefit the Honduran people,” Ms. Dogu said.
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