Elections

Compilations[edit]

Topics[edit]

Need for believers to accept responsibilities in their role as voters[edit]

"These local Spiritual Assemblies will have to be elected directly by the friends, and every declared believer of 21 years and above, far from standing aloof and assuming an indifferent or independent attitude, should regard it his sacred duty to take part conscientiously and diligently, in the election, the consolidation, and the efficient working of his own local Assembly."

(Shoghi Effendi, 12 March 1923 to the Bahá'ís of the West, Japan and Australasia, published in "Bahá'í Administration", p. 39; also in Elections - The sanctity and nature of Bahá'í elections, no. 263)

"It is the duty of the friends individually to become more intelligent voters and vote only after studying the situation conscientiously."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 16, 1933; in Lights of Guidance, no. 64)

"By emphasizing the necessity of maintaining his full freedom in the elections, they make it incumbent upon him to become an active and well-informed member of the Bahá'í community in which he lives."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 4, 1935; in Lights of Guidance, no. 31)

"What is needed is to get the Administration in its present form to run more efficiently and at the same time to build up a higher sense of responsibility among the body of the believers. They should be encouraged to think more, not only about the qualifications of members of their elected bodies, but also about such things as you mention, the law of averages, the age and indisposition of some of the members, etc."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Messages to Canada, pp. 81-82)

Opportunity provided by annual elections for fixing defects as a result of actions of its members[edit]

"For as Abdu'l-Bahá has repeatedly emphasized Bahá'í Assemblies are under the guidance and protection of God. The elections, specially when annual, give the community a good opportunity to remedy any defect or imperfection from which the Assembly may suffer as a result of the actions of its members. Thus a safe method has been established whereby the quality of membership in Bahá'í Assemblies can be continually raised and improved. But, as already stated, the institution of the Spiritual Assembly should under no circumstances be identified with, or be estimated merely through, the personal qualifications of the members that compose it."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, November 15, 1935; in Lights of Guidance, no. 30)

"It is precisely because they are subject to the same human limitations that characterize the other members of the community that they have to be elected every year. The existence of elections is a sufficient indication that Assembly members, though forming part of an institution that is divine and perfect, are nevertheless themselves imperfect. But this does not necessarily imply that their judgment is defective."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, November 15, 1935; in Lights of Guidance, no. 26)

Duty to become acquainted with other believers[edit]

Believers to become more intelligent voters by knowing others through conventions and summer schools to find out who are the best fitted to become Assembly members[edit]

"As regards the election of new members on the National Assembly, Shoghi Effendi finds no other practical method that is in conformity with the spirit of the teachings, except through better acquaintance of the friends during the annual conventions and summer schools. It is the duty of the individual friends to come to know one another and find out who are the persons best fitted to become members of that body. This is a slow process but surely the best one and gives the greatest amount of freedom of choice to the electors. It is the duty of the friends individually to become more intelligent voters and vote only after studying the situation conscientiously."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 16, 1933; in Lights of Guidance, no. 64)

Believers should become intelligent, well-informed and responsible electors through close and continued contact with fellow-believers, keeping in touch with local teaching, administrative, and other activities, and participation in local and national committees and assemblies[edit]

"To be able to make a wise choice at the election time, it is necessary for him to be in close and continued contact with all of his fellow-believers, to keep in touch with all local activities, be they teaching, administrative or otherwise, and to fully and whole-heartedly participate in the affairs of the local as well as national committees and assemblies in his country. It is only in this way that a believer can develop a true social consciousness, and acquire a true sense of responsibility in matters affecting the interests of the Cause. Bahá'í community life thus makes it a duty for every loyal and faithful believer to become an intelligent, well-informed and responsible elector, and also gives him the opportunity of raising himself to such a station. And since the practice of nomination hinders the development of such qualities in the believer, and in addition leads to corruption and partisanship, it has to be entirely discarded in all Bahá'í elections."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 4, 1935, in Lights of Guidance, no. 34)

Voter to choose among those whose good name has been widely diffused; to consider as continuing duty to familiarize oneself with the character and abilities of those who are active in the community[edit]

"Also relevant to this question is the statement made by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in one of His Tablets to the effect that a voter should make his choice from among those whose good name has been widely diffused.

"Inevitably, in any form of election, worthy individuals fail to be elected simply because they are not widely known. This is true in the system that uses nominations and electioneering as it will be in the Bahá'í system. However, this is not the point. Election to an Assembly, from a Bahá'í point of view, is not a right that people are entitled to, or an honour to which they should aspire; it is a duty and responsibility to which they may be called. The purpose is that those who are elected to an Assembly should be the most worthy for this service; this does not and cannot mean that all those who are worthy will be elected.

"It is expected that in the future .. there will be very large numbers of individuals who have the qualities which make them fit for service on Spiritual Assemblies. Of these only a few can be elected at any one time. It is also expected that, through training and experience in the process and spirit of Bahá'í elections, the members of the electorate will have raised their consciousness of their responsibility to vote for only those who satisfy the requirements that the Guardian has outlined. They will, therefore, see it as their continuing duty to familiarize themselves with the character and abilities of those who are active in the community so that, when the time for an election comes, they will already have some idea of the people from among whom they must make their choice."

(Memorandum Written by the Universal House of Justice, 16 November 1988 to the International Teaching Centre)

Friends to get to know other Bahá'ís through regional and national newsletters, conferences, and association[edit]

"...the friends, through regional newsletters, National News-Letter, conferences and association with each other, can get to know other Bahá’ís in their state, and become familiar enough with their services and qualifications to vote for their delegates intelligently."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 25 March 1949, Cited in Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001, no. 232.6)

Administration to be enhanced by holding more conferences and publishing more news for Bahá'ís[edit]

"When we look back and see what the administration has accomplished in twenty-odd years, indeed what it has done in the last seven years, we see what strides forward have been made. Far greater tasks lie ahead, but the Guardian does not feel that the way to meet them is to change the present system but rather to perfect it by educating the believers and training them, holding more conferences, publishing more news for Bahá'ís, getting more people active."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 25)

Distinguish between someone who is well known due merely to active public service and those trying to attract votes[edit]

"If an individual ostentatiously places himself in public eye with the seeming purpose of getting people to vote for him, the members of the electorate regard this as self-conceit and are affronted by it; they learn to distinguish between someone who is well known as an unintentional result of active public service and someone who makes an exhibition of himself merely to attract votes."

(Memorandum Written by the Universal House of Justice, 16 November 1988 to the International Teaching Centre)

Discussing qualifications[edit]

https://bahai-library.com/uhj_bahai_electoral_process

Considerations in making a vote[edit]

Not to limit terms in office, nor confine election to body of delegates; what is needed is to build up higher sense of responsibility among believers and encouraged to think more, not only about qualifications, but also law of averages, age, and indisposition of some members, etc.[edit]

"Regarding your questions concerning the advisability of changing the basis of the National Assembly's election and confining it to the body of delegates or of limiting the term of office: He feels that as any such changes are of a radical nature and should therefore also apply to the National Spiritual Assemblies of other countries they are inadvisable and premature, both for this reason and because of their very nature.

"What is needed is to get the Administration in its present form to run more efficiently and at the same time to build up a higher sense of responsibility among the body of the believers. They should be encouraged to think more, not only about the qualifications of members of their elected bodies, but also about such things as you mention, the law of averages, the age and indisposition of some of the members, etc.

"When we look back and see what the Administration has accomplished in twenty-odd years, indeed what it has done in the last seven years, we see what strides forward have been made. Far greater tasks lie ahead; but the Guardian does not feel that the way to meet them is to change the present system but rather to perfect it by educating the believers and training them, holding more conferences, publishing more news for Bahá'ís, getting more people active."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Messages to Canada, pp. 81-82)

Diversity[edit]

Give due consideration to age distribution, diversity, and gender (among those believed qualified)[edit]

"From among the pool of those whom the elector believes to be qualified to serve, selection should be made with due consideration given to such other factors as age distribution, diversity, and gender."

(Universal House of Justice, at https://bahai-library.com/uhj_bahai_electoral_process )

Not to limit believers to choose those of any race, nationality, or temperament who best combine the essential qualifications; to represent the choicest and most varied[edit]

"...I do not feel it to be in keeping with the spirit of the Cause to impose any limitation upon the freedom of the believers to choose those of any race, nationality or temperament, who best combine the essential qualifications for membership of administrative institutions. They should disregard personalities and concentrate their attention on the qualities and requirements of office, without prejudice, passion or partiality. The Assembly should be representative of the choicest and most varied and capable elements in every Bahá'í community."

(From a letter of the Guardian to an individual believer, August 11, 1933: The Spiritual Character of Bahá'í Elections, p. 3; in Lights of Guidance, no. 33)

Need for consideration of actual capacity and present attainments (upon occasion of right to vote in Bahá'í elections being given to Indian and Burmese women who had already discarded the veil)[edit]

"This definite and most important step, however, should be taken with the greatest care and caution, prudence and thoughtfulness. Due regard must be paid to their actual capacity and present attainments, and only those who are best qualified for membership, be they men or women, and irrespective of social standing, should be elected to the extremely responsible position of a member of the Bahá'í Assembly."

(Shoghi Effendi, Dawn of a New Day, p. 4)

Each Voter Must Vote for the Nine Best Suited for Election--Not Betray Sacred Trust[edit]

"It is a basic principle of elections for Bahá'í Spiritual Assemblies that each voter must vote for the nine people who, in his or her opinion, are best suited to serve. He may have a low opinion of all those who are eligible, but his duty is to vote for those nine from among them who, in his estimation, best meet the standards for service on a Spiritual Assembly. This is how it is possible to vote for exactly nine names. Since the membership of an Assembly is nine, it would give rise to a number of statistical anomalies if voters were permitted to record votes for fewer or more than nine names. In any one election there are not usually many cases where a voter accidentally makes a mistake and includes a name of an ineligible person, so the statistical effect is slight, and there is no need to invalidate his whole ballot. As you point out, a believer who does not wish to vote for nine, may achieve his end by purposely including the names of those who are ineligible, but this would be a betrayal of the trust placed in him as a Bahá'í voter. One cannot control such actions, but like any action contrary to the spirit of the Faith, they are detrimental and should be strongly discouraged."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, October 26, 1983, in Lights of Guidance, no. 68)

Incumbents: change in membership is good though depends on will of delegates[edit]

New Blood Adds to Energy of the Group[edit]

"Shoghi Effendi has never said that the members of the National Assembly have to be renewed partially every year. The important thing is that they should be properly elected. It would be nice if there should be new members elected, for new blood always adds to the energy of the group and will keep up their spirit. But this depends entirely upon the will of the delegates as represented in the result of their voting."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, April 27, 1932: Bahá'í News, No. 67, October 1932, p. 4, in Lights of Guidance, no. 63)

Changes in membership is good and brings a fresh outlook[edit]

"He was very happy to see that changes had been made in membership of the N.S.A. this year, not from any reasons of personality, but because change itself is good and brings a fresh outlook into the discussions of any assembly."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, in The National Spiritual Assembly, p. 18, cited in Developing Distinctive Bahá'í Communities)

Assemblies often stagnate from lack of fresh blood (education of electorate can bring change)[edit]

"As elections are by secret ballot only the education of the electorate can bring about changes on Assemblies which often stagnate from lack of fresh blood--but Committees appointed as they are by Spiritual Assemblies--can be constituted with an eye for improvement and change."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, March 31, 1945, in Lights of Guidance, no. 547)

Can be re-elected in full or in part if well-qualified; novelty or renewal is secondary to merit; changes welcome if not prejudicing quality[edit]

"There is no objection in principle to an Assembly being re-elected whether in toto or in part, provided the members are considered to be well qualified for that post. It is individual merit that counts. Novelty, or the mere act of renewal of elections, are purely secondary considerations. Changes in Assembly membership would be welcome so far as they do not prejudice the quality of such membership. Once Assembly elections are over, the results should be conscientiously and unquestionably accepted by the entire body of the believers, not necessarily because they represent the Voice of Truth, or the Will of Bahá'u'lláh, but for the supreme purpose of maintaining unity and harmony in the community."

(Shoghi Effendi, Elections - The sanctity and nature of Bahá'í elections, 10 July 1939 to an individual believer, published in "Directives of the Guardian", compiled by Gertrude Garrida (New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1973), p. 23; in no. 248)

(Pleased at more younger people being on the NSA to assist older members.)[edit]

"He was also pleased to see that these changes involved more younger people being on the N.S.A.; with the tremendous amount of work which this . . . Plan is going to involve, this will be a great help to the older members of that body."