April 30. On this date in 2018, the Bahá'í World News Service announced "Universal House of Justice elected." The results were easily predicted, and the next member to be elected to the Universal House of Justice will be Andrej Donoval.
On April 22, 2018, the Bahá'í World News Service carried an article announcing the retirement of Gustavo Correa and Firaydoun Javaheri from the Universal House of Justice. Juan Francisco Mora and Praveen Kumar Mallik were the next two members of the International Teaching Centre in order of seniority and therefore were duly elected to the Universal House of Justice. Andrej Donoval will be the next member elected to the Universal House of Justice.
Juan Francisco Mora had been on the International Teaching Centre since 2008.
Praveen Kumar Mallik had been on the International Teaching Centre since 2010.
Andrej Donoval has been on the International Teaching Centre since 2013.
The next individual to be elected to the Universal House of Justice will be Andrej Donoval.
In the Bahá'í electoral system, with no overt campaigning and politicking permitted, the exposure of potential candidates to electors is a premium. The nine members of the International Teaching Centre routinely travel throughout the world, giving them vital face-time with members of the National Spiritual Assemblies who serve as electors for the Universal House of Justice. In fact, every single one of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as a Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre.
With the turnover of the Universal House of Justice's nine members and with the International Teaching Centre's being composed of nine members, some of whom are women and therefore ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice, a man's appointment to the International Teaching Centre serves as a presumption to eventual election to the Universal House of Justice.
To illustrate further, in a letter dated October 20, 2008, the Universal House of Justice called for a series of 41 Regional Conferences intended to mark the mid-point of the Five Year Plan and motivate participants to re-dedicate themselves to the goals of the Plan upon returning home. The Regional Conferences were held from November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009.
Each of the 41 Rregional Conferences was attended by two Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre with the exception of the Conference held at Uvira, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had only one representative. The Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre at the time of the Regional Conferences were Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Hall, Stephen Birkland, Zenaida Ramirez, Joan Lincoln, Rachel Ndegwa, Uransaikhan Baatar, and Penelope Walker.
Of this cohort of Counsellors, the five lady members (Zenaida Ramirez, Joan Lincoln, Rachel Ndegwa, Uransaikhan Baatar, and Penelope Walker) were ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice.
Of the four male members at the time of the 41 Regional Conferences (Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Hall, and Stephen Birkland), all but Juan Francisco Mora had already been elected to the Universal House of Justice. Given that he has had more exposure to the electors of the Universal House of Justice than any other current male Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre, it was easily predictable that in the election of April 29, 2018, Juan Francisco Mora would be elected to the Universal House of Justice. Being next in seniority, Praveen Kumar Mallik was also duly elected.
In practice, the Bahá’í electoral system most closely resembles council democracy as it still exists in Cuba, wherein individuals elect Local Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect National Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect the Universal House of Justice. With no politicking or partisanship allowed, there is little turnover in leadership and Universal House of Justice members almost invariably serve until retirement or death. In the people's democracies of the Eastern Bloc, these career bureaucrats were known as the nomenklatura.
In a similar process, the current members of the International Teaching Centre previously served as Continental Counsellors...
| Name | Date Appointed | Previous Assignment as Continental Counsellor |
|---|---|---|
| Rachel Ndegwa | 2003 | Africa, 2000 - 2003 |
| Uransaikhan Baatar | 2008 | Asia, 2000 - 2008 |
| Juan Francisco Mora | 2008 | Americas, 2005 - 2008 |
| Praveen Kumar Mallik | 2010 | Asia, 2006 - 2010 |
| Ramchand Coonjul | 2013 | Africa, 2010 - 2013 |
| Antonella Demonte | 2013 | Europe, 2010 - 2013 |
| Andrej Donoval | 2013 | Europe, 2010 - 2013 |
| Alison Milston | 2013 | Americas, 2008 - 2013 |
| Mehranguiz Farid Tehrani | 2013 | Asia, 2005 - 2013 |
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