Foreign Aid, Partisan Politics and Election Observation in Tanzania, 1995 -2020

Previous research on election observation has assessed observer bias or examined the effect of local observers on the credibility of elections. This article examines how the interplay of foreign aid and domestic has shaped election observation practices in Tanzania's general elections from 1995 to 2020. The article anchors on documentary evidence to argue that foreign aid influences, the motives of Electoral Management Bodies, and partisan influence contributed significantly to domestic observers issuing ambiguous, contradictory, and even flawed election assessments. The study calls for more accountability of the electoral stakeholders and proposes measures to deter the negative influence of foreign aid and local actors.