Sanctity of Baha'i Elections

“...the arrival of Bahá'u'lláh and His companions in the Najibiyyih Garden outside the city of 213 Baghdad, subse-quently referred to by the Bahá'ís as the Garden of Ridvan. This event, which took place thirty-one days after Naw-Ruz, in April 1863, signalized the commencement of the period during which Bahá'u'lláh declared His Mission to His companions. In a Tablet, He refers to His Declaration as "the Day of supreme felicity" and He describes the Gar-den of Ridvan as "the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendors of His Name, the All-Merciful".
Bahá'u'lláh spent twelve days in this Garden prior to de-parting for Istanbul, the place to which He had been ban-ished. The Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh is celebrated annu-ally by the twelve-day Ridvan Festival, described by Shoghi Effendi as "the holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals"
In the Kitab-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh Writes:
“Verily, all created things were immersed in the sea of pu-rification when, on that first day of Ridvan, We shed upon the whole of creation the splendors of Our most excellent Names and Our most exalted Attributes
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 47)
“... I do not feel it to be in keeping with the spirit of the Cause to impose any limitations upon the freedom of the be-lievers to choose those of any race, 10 nationality or temperament, who best combine the essential qualification for membership of administrative institutions. They should disregard personalities and concentrate their attention on the qualities and requirements of office, without prejudice, passion or partially. The Assembly should be representa-tive of the choicest and most varied and capable elements in every Bahá'í community."
“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 of his fellow -- believers, to keep in touch with 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 land 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 believers, and in addition leads to corruption and partisanship, it has to be entirely discarded in a Bahá'í elections."
“On the election day the friends must whole-heartedly participate in the elections, in unity and amity, turning their hearts to God, detached from all things but Him, seeking His guidance and supplicating His aid and bounty”
"... the elector... is called upon to vote for none but those whom prayer and reflection have inspired him to uphold. Moreover, the practice of nomination, so detrimental to the atmosphere of a silent and prayerful election, is viewed with mistrust, inasmuch as it gives the right,... to deny that God-given right of every elector to vote only in favor of those who he is conscientiously convinced are the most worthy candidates”
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance)