"If I weren't glad before to be a Baha'i, I was especially glad after participating for the first time in the Faith's electoral process; it was one of the highlights of my life," says Irma Simuni of Wilmette, Ill.

Mrs. Simuni, who grew up in the Soviet Union, became a Baha'i in May, and in October, at one of 161 local conventions held throughout the United States, voted to elect a local delegate to the Faith's annual national convention held each April. Baha'is worldwide also participated in local conventions.

Irma Simuni registers at her first local Baha'i convention
Photo by Steve Townsend

In April, the delegates, including 171 from the United States, will elect nine Baha'is to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly in their respective countries. To date, there are 182 National Spiritual Assemblies worldwide. Every five years, members of these assemblies elect nine Baha'is to serve on the Universal House of Justice, the administrative body of the worldwide Baha'i community.

The Baha'i Faith's administrative order, which serves in lieu of clergy, is a unique feature among the world's religions. So are Baha'i elections, which are conducted through secret ballot and plurality vote, without candidacies, nominations or campaigning - but with a great deal of thought, dignity and heart.

Mrs. Simuni says she was amazed at "the authenticity and sincerity" of those at her Baha'i community's convention, which featured music, food and entertainment presented in a loving atmosphere.

"We were asked to make a list of qualities that we expect to see in members of the National Spiritual Assembly," she says. "Then there was discussion, questions and answers, and then voting. It was Baha'i philosophy and Baha'i values in action."

"Our confidence in our administrative order comes not only because Baha'u'llah ordained it, but because it works universally," says Martha Schweitz of the office of governance studies at the Baha'i National Center in Evanston, Ill.

Baha'is who attend their local conventions are "part of something magnificent in a world ‘whose institutions, secular as well as religious, are for the most part dissolving," wrote Robert C. Henderson, Secretary-General of the NSA of the Baha'is of the United States, quoting Shoghi Effendi, a leader of the Baha'i Faith.

Mrs. Simuni says she felt the magnificence. "Our vision wasn't clogged or dimmed by hypocrisy. It was the way our heart should operate," she says. "This is the way we should choose our representatives. This is something the world needs to learn."

Mrs. Simuni says she also was amazed by the number of "young adults, people of a new generation," who participated and coordinated the convention. "They're people with such high moral standards; it makes you feel certain that the Baha'i cause - the oneness of humanity -- will come to fruition."