Chandigarh. April 23:Prof. Anil Sarwal is one of the nine delegates from India who would be leaving for Haifa, Israel on April 25 to elect the supreme Baha’i body, known as the Universal House of Justice. The Baha’i Faith is well-known in India for its cardinal teachings of oneness of God, oneness of religion and oneness of humankind. The Baha’i House of Worship at New Delhi, popularly known as the Lotus Temple, is visited by more than 10,000 people on an average every day.
A global election process that began with people in 100,000 cities and villages around the world will culminate on 29 April when delegates gather in Haifa, Israel to elect the international governing body of the Baha’i Faith.
Representatives of some 170 nations will cast ballots for the nine members of the Universal House of Justice, which has its seat at the Baha’i World Centre in Haifa. About 1,200 delegates are expected to attend the convention. The election is held every five years.
Baha’i elections are distinctive in that there are no nominations, no campaigning, and no discussion about which individuals should be elected.
The delegates to the International Baha’i Convention – members of all the Baha’i national governing bodies around the world – vote by secret ballot for the nine people they believe best suited for membership on the supreme institution of their Faith.
The Baha’i writings state that voters should try to choose people "of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience."
The election process began well over a year ago when Baha’is in some 100,000 localities around the world began meeting in district conventions to elect delegates to their own national conventions. At those gatherings, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of each country is elected.
The members of those national councils gather as electors at the global level for the International Baha’i Convention, to be held from 29 April to 2 May in Haifa.
