At its 13th General Assembly, the Latin Evangelical Alliance (AEL) held the vote required under its bylaws for the periodic renewal of several positions on its board of directors. The session covered the election and re-election of the positions of first vice president, secretary and two members at large.
AEL President Juan Cruz Cellammare explained the regulatory context of the elections at the start of the session and noted the importance of the time members must devote to the board, “because being on the board demands quite a lot of time.”
The procedure required an absolute majority, set at 9 votes out of a total of 17 accredited presidents, to decide the appointments. Before voting opened, Pastor César Ayala of Guatemala offered a prayer on behalf of the organization: “Give us wisdom to cast this vote according to your holy will.”
Election of first vice president and secretary
Four candidates stood for first vice president: Pastor Jorge Gómez (Costa Rica), Pastor Christian Hooft (Argentina), Pastor Enrique Alva (Peru) and Pastor José Gerardo Irías (Honduras).
In his remarks, Gómez said: “I have always said that one has to speak through actions, and you will judge what my work has been during these two years. I believe I have taken all the tasks assigned to me seriously and carried them out, as long as it is to honor the name of the Lord.” After the count, Gómez received 10 votes, securing his continuation in the post.
For the position of secretary, Pastor Mariano Blázquez (Spain) was confirmed with 13 votes.
Presenting his candidacy, Blázquez said: “I understood that God was giving me a vision of connecting Spain with Latin America to strengthen the evangelization of Europe and also the Latin position in it. I believe I have fulfilled a good part of the objectives I had, and I feel very much at ease.”
Vote for members at large and inclusion of a woman
Filling the positions of members at large 4 and 6 required two rounds of voting among five initial candidates. In the first round, Pastor Lyda Elena Arias (Colombia) was elected with 12 votes.
In her earlier presentation, Arias summed up her approach: “If we are ethical, whoever has stood as a candidate has done so because they are saying, ‘I am going to serve.’ So, 3A: Amor [love] and service, Aportar [to contribute], but also Aprender [to learn].”
Cellammare highlighted the result, saying: “It is the first time we have a woman on the board of directors representing a country.”
Because no other candidate reached the minimum threshold required by the rules in that round, a second round was held among the three candidates with the most votes.
In the final vote, Irías reached 9 votes and was elected to the remaining member-at-large position.
Irías had earlier told the assembly: “The passion I have for evangelism is one of the things that moves me to be here, and you do that: preach the gospel of Christ ... I believe it is a good platform to serve and to work as a team.”
A budget report was also presented during Thursday’s board of directors session.
The AEL General Assembly, which has brought together full members, commission members and associated entities in San José, Costa Rica, concluded Friday with a Communion service.
Original reporting by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
