EU foreign policy in action: supporting peacebuilding in Tanzania during the election process

In order to enhance trust in the democratic process for the 2020 general elections the EU supported the Tanzania Election Stability and Democracy project, through its Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace. This action focused on civic education, election monitoring and evaluation actions. We also contributed to reducing the likelihood of post-election violence in the country, by putting in place early warning monitoring actions in the aftermath of the elections.

One of the key factors of success was the post-election dialogue platforms, which brought together election stakeholders and government officials and helped them identify emerging tensions in the aftermath of the elections and discuss ways to de-escalate these and map possible interventions to respond to conflict triggers.

In the context of these dialogues, the partners made a series of recommendations to help ensure that future electoral processes are democratic and peaceful, some of which were:

• increasing citizen access to civic education;
• strengthening the legal framework governing the conduct of electoral processes to provide for independent, accountable and inclusive electoral administration;
• reviewing regulations governing political parties and election agents in electoral processes; and
• supporting media freedom and strengthening its independence.

These recommendations were presented to the newly elected decision-makers.

The Tanzania Election Stability and Democracy project will continue to support institution building and the promotion of peace across the country using a digital early warning platform.  This will ensure a continued dialogue with stakeholders and help to periodically review the state of peace and stability in the country, following up on agreed milestones for reforms.