{"id":1164,"date":"2008-04-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/australians-to-vote-in-unique-international-election\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:48:15","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:48:15","slug":"australians-to-vote-in-unique-international-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/australians-to-vote-in-unique-international-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Australians to vote in unique international election"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Australians
John Walker (centre, back) with fellow National Assembly members<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Members of the governing council of the Australian Baha’i Community will participate in a unique international election in Haifa, Israel tomorrow.<\/p>\n

The members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Austrlaia will join with their counterparts from some 170 countries to vote for the Universal House of Justice, the nine-member international governing body of the Baha’i Faith.<\/p>\n

Eight of the nine members are in Haifa, with one remaining in Australia due to ill health but participating by postal ballot.<\/p>\n

The election will be the highlight and main purpose of the Tenth International Baha’i Convention held from 29 April to 2 May at the Haifa International Convention Centre.<\/p>\n

It is being held during the Festival of Ridvan, a 12-day period that began on 21 April with the Baha’i holy day that commemorates Baha’u’llah’s declaration in 1863 that He was a new messenger of God.<\/p>\n

Conducted once every five years, the election is the only one where the governing institution of a major independent world religion is elected directly by delegates chosen by their respective national communities.<\/p>\n

The International Convention will also include plenary sessions where delegates consult on topics of common concern.<\/p>\n

Distinctive elections<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Baha’i Faith, which has no clergy, is governed by democratically elected councils at the international, national and local levels.<\/p>\n

Baha’i elections are distinctive for taking place without nominations or campaigning.<\/p>\n

Instead of being influenced by outside pressures, voters are guided by the Faith’s teachings, which advise them to choose “those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognised ability and mature experience.”<\/p>\n

The Universal House of Justice, an institution called for by Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Faith, was first elected in 1963. It has its seat at the Baha’i World Centre on Mt Carmel in Haifa, Israel.<\/p>\n

Fifth time<\/strong><\/p>\n

For one of the Australian delegates, it will be the fifth time he has participated in the election of the Universal House of Justice.<\/p>\n

Queenslander John Walker, now serving in Sydney as the elected secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, voted for the Universal House of Justice in 1968, 1973, 1998 and 2003.<\/p>\n

Mr Walker said voting for the Universal House of Justice was an awe-inspiring experience.<\/p>\n

“I had an overwhelming feeling of certitude and confidence that everything was happening at a high level of integrity,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It is also wonderful to meet and talk with National Spiritual Assembly members from other countries – there is a lot of cross fertilisation of ideas.”<\/p>\n

The other Australians voting this year are: Mrs Fiona McDonald (East Fremantle), Professor Fariborz Moshirian (Ku-ring-gai, Sydney), Dr Golshah Naghdy (Wollongong), Ms Kath Podger (Leichhardt, Sydney), Dr Vahid Saberi (Ballina, NSW), Professor Bijan Samali (Baulkham Hills, Sydney), Ms Tessa Scrine (Canberra) and Dr Marjorie Tidman (York, WA).<\/p>\n

Read a report from the Baha’i World News Service<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of the governing council of the Australian Baha’i Community will participate in a unique international election in Haifa, Israel tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nAustralians to vote in unique international election - Australian Baha'i Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/australians-to-vote-in-unique-international-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australians to vote in unique international election - 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