The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Multiparty elections were reinstated in Tanzania in 1995, though the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has retained power with victorious presidential candidates and dominant representation in parliament. In 2005, Tanzania held its third multiparty Union elections for both the mainland and the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Jakaya Kikwete, was elected president with 80% of the vote. While 17 new parties contested, none was able to demonstrate significant public support. President Kikwete entered office with a robust reform agenda focused on ambitious economic projects to fight poverty, reduce public sector corruption, prioritize scientific development, and augment tourism. These reforms will require the development of meaningful political opposition, however, to provide the incentive to maintain such policies.

Zanzibar elections were hotly contested between CCM and CUF. In 1995 and 2000, elections on Zanzibar were contentious; domestic and international observers found serious faults with the process; and CUF rejected the results. In 2001, demonstrations organized by CUF to protest the conduct of the 2000 elections and calls for a new vote, ended in violence with over 30 demonstrators killed. Elections were better administered in 2005, but significant problems remain in particular concerned about the accuracy of the voter registry. President Amani Abeid Karume of CCM narrowly defeated CUF candidate Seif Shariff Hamad and was re-elected for a second term as President of Zanzibar. CCM also won the majority of the elected seats in the House of Representatives.

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