Baha'is present their "Covenant" as something unique to their religion. They present it as an undisputable documented contract of inheritance, a will and testament, if you will, that is protected by God so that any violaters against it will be rendered impotent by it.
The Baha'i Faith's history is full of fragmentation, and the course the Baha'i Faith has taken has many times taken quick surprise turns.
The act that brought the Baha'i Faith itself into existence was in defiance of such a Covenant. The Bab's successor, called Mirza Yahya by Baha'is, was referred to as a mere decoy by Baha'is. Baha'is produced evidence that Baha'u'llah was the Bab's intended successor, but did not deny that the Bab appointed Yahya.
Later, the third Baha'i leader, Shoghi Effendi, died childless. Having failed to produce a will, Shoghi left the Baha'i world in a precarious situation. What he did was in apparent violation of the Baha'i Covenant.
Baha'is maintain that such crtical junctures in their history were only tests to sift out the weak in faith.
The Baha'is whose allegiance lies with the dominant Baha'i sect, those loyal to the "Universal House of Justice" currently seated in Haifa, Israel, maintain that those who are true to the Covenant will be empowered by the Covenant.
Baha'i history shows us a different picture. At many times, the Baha'is who eventually prevailed were nearly vanquished. Only recently has there been such a dominant sect in the Baha'i Faith, but even that denomination seems impotent and obscure, lacking the influence to even familiarize the world with the word Bahá'í in this information age.
Bahá'í history is mottled with inheritance disputes. In defense of their Covenant, Baha'is regard the darker periods as divine tests, arguing that egos are often tested by opportunities for power.
What Bahá'ís do not acknowledge is the fact that their history is just as fragmented as other religions, with breaks occurring from its first years to the years following the death of Shoghi Effendi.