Updated 03 November 2009 
 
The World Federation 2009 Triennial Conference took place at the Jaffery Community Center at Bathurst, Toronto, on 23 -25 October 2009.

Venue
 
The venue was the Jaffery Community Center in Bathurst, Toronto. At the Eighth Executive Council meeting held in Paris on 3 May 2009, Dr Hassam was given the flexibility by the Executive Council to select the venue.

The Secretariat has typed the verbatim transcript taken from the video of the Executive Council meeting held in Paris on 3 May 2009 and the following is the exact set of words stated by the previous President, Dr Ahmed Hassam. All additions and clarifications are clearly put into brackets ():

Brothers, InshaAllah arrangements for the conference are under way. Conference to be held in Dubai but maybe (repeat) maybe we may not be able to hold the conference in Dubai. Till today we have not had the green light from Dubai. Brothers, times have changed. People can’t go in and out of Dubai as easily as before. A lot of our scholars have been turned back at the airport. The airport authorities now have a list, who to allow through and who to refuse entry; what do you do?; what have you come for?; we have submitted to them a full report about our last conference of three years ago; what was discussed at the conference; we were told that permission to hold conference in Dubai would be confirmed by May 1; but till today (May 3) we have heard nothing; I called Dubai this morning and I was told everything should be OK InshaAllah within a week; Masum Somji is aware of the problems these days; for any business with Dubai your passport copy first goes to the CID office; my own passport is stuck with the authorities; this is the state of affairs; so it is possible that we have to consider planning for an alternate venue; so this is why I want your permission, because I cannot call another meeting just for changing the venue, so I am requesting  that you all give the Secretariat the flexibility, if after all the efforts Dubai does not materialise, then InshaAllah hold the meeting in London, it will be the second easy point for everyone to get to, InshaAllah efforts for Dubai are still ongoing. So give the Secretariat this flexibility that if we need to change the venue then you are giving us the authority to change the venue.
 
There were no further objections, and the Councillors went on to deliberate the next item in the agenda.

Initially, Dr Hassam and the Secretariat pursued Dubai as the venue for the conference. Once that failed (for reasons outlined), they then pursued Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. This was not possible as the Africa Federation wanted to host the Conference in Arusha, in line with their previous Supreme Council Meeting.

The Secretariat then looked at London but did not select London for the reasons set out in this circular (please click here). 
 
As a result of these actions, Toronto was eventually selected. We thank the managing committee of ISIJ Toronto for providing us with excellent hospitality throughout the three days of the conference and we pray to Allah (swt) to bless them all for the sacrifices they made during the stay of the delegates, which included delegates from Europe, North America, Pakistan, Africa and Dubai.
 
Visas

NASIMCO, in conjunction with Toronto Jamaat, had offered to leverage their connections to facilitate visa formalities through the appropriate authorities for those requiring visas for Canada. The World Federation Secretariat had recommended that visa applications be made well before 31 August 2009 [click here to see the circular] and the details be sent to the Toronto Conference Committee.  Where required, the Secretariat had pledged additional support to visa applications already lodged.  Unfortunately, although the notice of the meeting had gone out many months before the start of the Conference, many delegates had applied only a few weeks before the meeting.

Resolutions passed at the Conference
 
The Secretariat is confident that the resolutions passed by the Conference (1) to investigate within one year the flaws of the 2009 election, and (2) to address at the December 2010 constitutional conference the process and procedure of electing the president, will both serve to establish what went wrong with the electoral process and how we can best ensure we avoid the resulting confusion that we have witnessed. The Secretariat will announce in due course the formation of these task forces and we urge you, the community grassroots, to fully submit your comments, suggestions and recommendations to The World Federation.

In addition, the resolutions above are binding (like the resolutions passed without notice at all previous Conferences of The World Federation). The idea of notice is not required here, unless there is a change in the constitution, which did not and has not taken place.

The Secretariat is fully cognisant that the Conference's decision to assume its right to elect the President from amongst the six nominated candidates, left each candidate and the community with a process that would rather not have been encountered, especially after great personal sacrifice, time, energy, personal funds and resources were invested by each of the 6 candidates. In addition, this procedure has been used in the past. The Secretariat fully recognises that this is the fall back option and far from ideal, especially given that grassroots elections are a priority. However, due to the reasons to follow below, the conference felt it had no other choice but to elect a president by casting a vote amongst the delegates present.

The Secretariat appreciates and values the volunteerism, devotion to our communities, skills and experiences of each of the six candidates. We invite them and will reach out to them to continue serving our communities.

Having said that, the ultimate choice by Conference, of the individuals for President and Vice President, is very much in keeping with the will of the community voters all over the world, with the exception of Gujarat, where there were issues with the elections as confirmed by the arbitration team.

At the same time, in its choice, the Conference showed great maturity by sending a strong message of unity when it effectively prevailed upon the two Presidential Candidates to work as a team.

The Secretariat wishes to make clear how this process transpired and why an election for the post of the president was held at the conference. It is the understanding of the delegates present at the Conference that the President-elect was not yet declared at the start of the conference. There was no communication from the Electoral Commissioner, nor was he present at the Conference, and in fact as he stated in his email - he had never applied for the visa for Canada, stating as a reason that he did not want to take the risk of the visa application being rejected for fear of the adverse effect it would have on his rotary carrier. In this vacuum the Conference overwhelmingly demanded that a resolution be reached on how to proceed further so that the business of the Conference may proceed. No one present questioned the validity of the Triennial Conference. The Secretariat believes that such validity, if questionable, should have been resolved earlier using constitutional procedures available to Executive Councillors or at the Executive Council meeting in Dubai. Nonetheless, the Secretariat maintains that the Chairman had asked the delegates if there was anyone who questioned the constitutionality of this meeting then he / she should table a proposal accordingly. No proposal came forth and the Conference continued.

The Way Forward 
 
The Conference then sought ways on how best to proceed bearing in mind there was not a president elect. Two resolutions were drafted and debated at great length.
 
The first resolution was to recognise the flaws of the electoral process and to absolve the Electoral Commissioner, who had not been heard from at that time; and to ask the incoming Executive Council to investigate and report within a year as to what had gone wrong in the election process. It was known that the Electoral Commissioner's report was due to be delivered as item 13 of the agenda, scheduled for Saturday 24 October. However, the Conference deliberated the absence of the Commissioner and total lack of communication, and noted the clear flaws that were evident in the electoral process. Furthermore, no confirmation had been received from the Electoral Commissioner that he would even be attending the conference. The delegates recognised that this sad situation was no fault of any of the candidates. The Conference thereby resolved to absolve the Commissioner of his responsibility since there was no report or communication from him by the start of the Conference. A vote was taken from the floor as to whether a new agenda item could be added in which this entire issue could be discussed, with the overwhelming majority voting in favour and wanting to deal with this pertinent issue at hand immediately.
 
Resolution 1 

This 2009 Triennial Conference (“Conference”) recognizing the errors in the election process by, amongst others, the Executive Council and the Electoral Commissioner also recognizing that the Electoral Commissioner at the commencement of the Conference did not submit his report to the Conference, and taking into account the sense of the Conference HEREBY RESOLVES that the tasks of the Electoral Commissioner are hereby absolved. This Conference also recommends that the next Executive Council undertake a study into the past election process (2009) and report within a year to the Executive Council. [click here to read this resolution separately]

The first resolution rendered the Commissioner's responsibility as annulled and therefore any forthcoming report from him as being irrelevant. A subsequent text was received from the Commissioner.

At item 13 of the agenda, the Conference noted the presence of one of the arbitrators, Al Haj Nazir Jessa, and agreed for him to present his brief report for information only, since the former Commissioner, to whom this report was originally intended, had been absolved. The arbitrator reported that he had noted irregularities in 7 Jamaats in the Council of Gujarat, namely: Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Mahuva, Bordi, Thaliya, Khambat and Bhardawal. The arbitrator did not recommend that the Electoral Commissioner call the election in favour of a particular candidate and instead (bearing in mind the irregularities) had suggested to the former Commissioner that a re-run of elections in those 7 jamaats should be held. The Conference, who had absolved the Commissioner (and thus any appointment by the Commissioner) duly noted Nazir bhai’s findings and thanked him for his hard work and efforts. Once again, the Secretariat notes special thanks for Nazirbhai for his hard work and endeavours - may Allah (swt) bless him and his family for his efforts. 

Resolution 2

This 2009 Triennial Conference (“Conference”) bearing in mind the greater unity of the community, the potential disenfranchisement of some voters, recognizing the need for succession and recognizing that this episode is but a one time aberration in the growth and the promise of this community, and having considered several options as to courses of action, amongst the options which are:

• extend the term of the current 2006-2009 Office Bearers for an additional year; or
• elect caretaker committee for an additional year, at which time a new election would be conducted; or
• also having considered that this Conference has the penultimate authority to move with its own standard operating procedure and elect new Office Bearers.

Having considered the above options, the Conference HEREBY RESOLVES to adopt the course of reverting the authority back to the Conference and for the delegates to decide upon the next President from amongst those previously nominated. [click here to read this resolution separately]

The second resolution as can be seen above was that the Conference debated several options including: 1. establishment of a caretaker committee to resolve the electoral vacuum, or 2. extend the term of the 2006-2009 Executive Council for up to a year until the electoral issue was resolved, or 3. for the Conference to assume its power as the body with the ultimate authority in the wake of the electoral flaws to elect the president by the delegates present amongst the candidates who were present (as per precedent at previous Conferences). The Conference debated this issue at length and deliberated the pros and cons of a caretaker committee, and also of a re-run of the elections. Ultimately, recognising the urgent need to create an effective leadership team without delay, thus preventing any further negative impact on the well being of The World Federation, the Conference resolved with a resounding majority to assume its constitutional prerogative to elect the President as per option 3 above.

The Secretariat notes that some well-intentioned and respected members of our community may interpret the process differently and perhaps reach a different conclusion. We respect these views. The Secretariat notes that the 2009-2012 Office Bearers have accepted their elected positions in good faith, with good tidings to all and without malice. The Secretariat notes that the responsibility of the current Office Bearers is onerous and cumbersome especially because of the circumstances surrounding the elections and the errors in the electoral process; however, they also recognise that leadership at this critical juncture where the community is at a crossroads is also vital to the benefit of the community. 

The Future 
 
The World Federation has been in existence for one generation. Much has been achieved by this institution, and also by the Regional Federations and by Jamaats all around the world. We have built our community and must appreciate the leadership, vision and foresightedness of our previous leaders.  Successive leaderships have successfully threaded in a short span our community worldwide, some communities as young as a few years and others with a history and heritage extending over a century. We have collectively over these thirty years made a difference to countless individuals and communities. During the course of time we may have had differences of opinion at times in how we conduct our business and we have always resolved to fix this.

We must resolve our electoral process (as the Conference has willed) and bring about more openness and fairness. This will be done by the mandate given to the Executive Council and the constitutional conference as detailed above.

All this work and progress is only possible through the tawfeeq of Allah (swt) and due to the goodwill of our members, their compassion and understanding and to look ahead and fix what is not right. InshaAllah, with our Islamic ethos, collective wisdom, vigilance, resourcefulness and determination - our community will overcome this harrowing episode as we all collectively strive to serve a greater cause. Much work now lies ahead to take The World Federation to the next level of service of the community for the pleasure of Allah (swt). 

3 November 2009