Election Process
The Universal House of Justice is elected through secret ballot and plurality vote in a three-stage election by adult Bahá'ís throughout the world. The House of Justice is elected without nominations or campaigning and all adult male members of the Bahá'í Faith are eligible for election to the House. The body is elected every five years during a convention of the members of the various National or Regional Spiritual Assemblies (NSAs) across the world. Each member of the various NSAs, who were themselves elected by the Bahá'ís of their country, votes for nine adult male Bahá'ís. Absentee ballots are mailed or carried by delegates. The nine people who have the most votes are elected onto the Universal House of Justice. Women are not eligible for election to the Universal House of Justice. `Abdu'l-Bahá stated that the reason for this will become clear in the future, and that women and men are spiritually equal. For more on this issue see Bahá'í Faith and gender equality.
The most recent full election was in April 2008 when 166 National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies were in existence. About a thousand Bahá’ís from 153 countries were present at the 10th International Bahá’í Convention at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa.
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