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Letter of 4 February 1935
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Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel,
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The Guardian has duly received your letter of the 29th of
January last, and has carefully noted the points which you
had raised in connection with certain Bahá'í administrative
regulations and principles governing the election of local
and national assemblies.
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First, he wishes me to express the hope that your next
National Assembly meeting may be fully guided in its
deliberations on the various issues confronting it at present,
and also to assure you, as well as your co-workers in that
body, of his prayers for the success of your efforts in this
connection.
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Now, as regards the number of delegates at the annual
convention of the German friends, the Guardian fully
approves of the practice which your N.S.A. has thus far
adopted and enforced, namely to have 19 delegates instead
of 95. This, of course, is the only solution possible for the
present, in view of the limited number of the declared
believers in Germany.
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As to the practice of nomination in Bahá'í elections, this
the Guardian firmly believes to be in fundamental disaccord
with the spirit which should animate and direct all elections
held by the Bahá'ís, be they of a local or national character
and importance. It is, indeed, the absence of such a practice
that constitutes the distinguishing feature and the marked
superiority of the Bahá'í electoral methods over those
commonly associated with political parties and factions.
The practice of nomination being thus contrary to the spirit
of Bahá'í Administration should be totally discarded by all
the friends. For otherwise the freedom of the Bahá'í elector
in choosing the members of any Bahá'í assembly will be
seriously endangered, leaving the way open for the
domination of personalities. Not only that; but the mere act
of nomination--leads eventually to the formation of
parties--a thing which is totally alien to the spirit of the
Cause.
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In addition to these serious dangers, the practice of
nomination has the great disadvantage of killing in the
believer the spirit of initiative, and of self-development.
Bahá'í electoral procedures and methods have, indeed, for
one of their essential purposes the development in every
believer of the spirit of responsibility. By emphasizing the
necessity of maintaining his fully 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. 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 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.
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In connection with this, the Guardian wishes to draw
your Assembly's attention to the necessity of adopting the
system of plurality voting rather than that of absolute
majority voting. For the latter, by making the repetition of
elections a necessity, causes, though indirectly, much
pressure to bear upon the person of the elector. The Bahá'í
elector, as already emphasized, should be given full freedom
in his choice. Anything, therefore, which can in the least
interfere with such a freedom should be considered as
disastrous and hence should be completely wiped out. In all
elections, it is always difficult, that more than a few
individuals of high position should obtain a majority of the
votes of the electorate. Most of those elected have a
plurality of votes. To enforce the principle of majority
voting, therefore, it requires that the election be repeated
again and again and until all the members to be elected
have obtained more than half of the votes cast--a thing
which becomes the more difficult when it is a matter of
electing an assembly of nine persons. So, repetition in
elections becomes inevitable. And such a repetition is in
itself a restriction imposed upon the freedom of the
electorate. The only course, therefore, is for every elector to
write down the name of nine who he thinks are most
worthy. These nine who obtain the highest number of votes,
irrespective of the majority of the votes cast, will constitute
the members of the Assembly.
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As to your last question whether the individual voter can
conscientiously vote for himself. The Guardian believes that
not only the Bahá'í voter has the right, but is under the
moral obligation to do so, in case he finds himself worthy
and capable of assuming the responsibilities and duties
imposed upon the members of every duly elected Bahá'í
assembly. It is for every believer to carefully weigh his own
merits and powers, and after a thorough examination of his
self decide whether he is fit for such a position or not. There
is nothing more harmful to the individual--and also to
society than false humility which is hypocritical, and hence
unworthy of a true Bahá'í. The true believer is one who is
conscious of his strength as well as of his weakness, and
who, fully availing himself of the manifold opportunities
and blessings which God gives him, strives to overcome his
defects and weaknesses and this by means of a scrupulous
adherence to all the laws and commandments revealed by
God through His Manifestation.
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With the Guardian's greetings and best wishes to you and
all the friends,...
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[From the Guardian:]
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May the Almighty protect, bless and sustain you in the
historic services you are rendering His Faith, and graciously
assist you to lay a firm and unassailable foundation for the
future progress and extension of the newly-born institutions
of our glorious Faith in your land.
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Shoghi
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