The local Spiritual Assemblies of a country are linked together and co-ordinating through another elected body of nine members, the National Spiritual Assembly. This body comes into being by means of an annual election held by elected delegates representing the local Bahá’í communities.... The National Convention in which the delegates are gather together is composed of an elective body based upon the principle of proportional representation.... These National Conventions are preferably held during the period of Ridván, the twelve days beginning April 21st which commemorate the Declaration made by Bahá’u’lláh in the Garden of Ridván near Ba_gh_dád. The recognition of delegates is vested in the outgoing National Spiritual Assembly. A National Convention is an occasion for deepening one’s understanding of Bahá’í activities and of sharing reports of national and local activities for the period of the elapsed year.... The function of a Bahá’í delegate is limited to the duration of the National Convention and participation in the election of the new National Spiritual Assembly. While gathered together, the delegates are a consultative and advisory body whose recommendations are to be carefully considered by the members of the elected National Spiritual Assembly.... The relation of the National Spiritual Assembly to the local Spiritual Assemblies and to the body of the believers in the country is thus defined in the letters of the Guardian of the Cause: Regarding the establishment of “National Assemblies,” it is of vital importance that in every country, where the conditions are favorable and the number of the friends has grown and reached a considerable size ... that a “National Spiritual Assembly” be immediately established, representative of the friends throughout that country. Its immediate purpose is to stimulate, unify and coordinate by frequent personal consultations, the manifold activities of the friends as well as the local Assemblies; and by keeping in close and constant touch with the Holy Land, initiate measures, and direct in general the affairs of the Cause in that country. It serves also another purpose, no less essential than the first, as in the course of time it shall evolve into the National House of Justice (referred to in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will as the “secondary House of Justice”), which according to the explicit text of the Testament will have, in conjunction with the other National Assemblies throughout the Bahá’í world, to elect directly the members of the International House of Justice, that Supreme Council that will guide, organize and unify the affairs of the Movement throughout the world....