"The Baha'i Electoral System: A Principle-based Alternative to Partisan Politics" Marie Schafer, guest speaker

 

The Bahá’í community can be seen a vast social laboratory within which a new model of social organization is emerging. With a current membership of around six million people, drawn from over 2000 ethnic backgrounds and residing in every nation on the planet, the community is a microcosm of the entire human race. This diverse community has constructed a unique system of democratically-elected assemblies that govern Bahá’í affairs internationally, nationally, and locally in over 15,000 communities throughout the planet. Significantly, in many parts of the world, the first exercises in democratic activity have occurred within these Bahá’í communities. The Bahá’í electoral system, which is entirely non-partisan and non-competitive, has been used for more than three-quarters of a century and is now attracting attention from those looking for an alternative to our current electoral system.