The European Parliament on Thursday approved a resolution to cut funding to Tanzania due to concerns about repression and human rights violations, arising from the disputed general election in October, potentially blocking a €156 million ($177.27 million) disbursement under the European Union's 2025 action plan for the country.

While the decision is non-binding, as it still requires final endorsement by the EU Council and EU Commission before implementation, it marks the beginning of what could become much broader financial repercussions for President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government as it tries to mend its battered global image in the wake of the heavily disputed election.

But it was Resolution B10-0505/2025, calling on the EU Commission to withdraw its draft implementing decision on the 2025 Multi-Indical Annual Action Plan for Tanzania passed on October 22 and submit a new proposal, "that respects the concerns raised" about democratic backsliding, that delivered the more painful message to Tanzanian authorities.

It followed an engrossing debate on Wednesday where MEPs put the Samia administration on the spot over its handling of the October election, which was marred by a wave of youth-led unrest and a lethal response from state security forces resulting in an estimated death toll running into the thousands.

The election agency declared that Samia, running against a drastically weakened field after Lissu and other credible opposition rivals were either jailed or disqualified, had won by 98 percent of the vote while the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party secured a majority of at least 90 percent in the National Assembly.

Many of the bodies have since disappeared and, a month later, the government has yet to release official casualty figures.

The EU legislators put specific pressure on Tanzanian authorities to free Lissu who has been imprisoned since April and faces an automatic death sentence if he is indeed found guilty of committing treason. It also highlighted the need for an international intervention into investigations of what occurred during the election.

Wednesday's debate was held in the absence of Tanzanian government officials who had made an eleventh-hour request for postponement to give them time to offer MEPs a more "balanced" perspective of the election-related events based on verified evidence rather than "one-sided narratives."The Tanzanian embassy in Brussels issued a note verbale on Tuesday arguing that the motion had been introduced without giving Tanzania a chance to "present its side" or clarify facts related to the allegationsIt said in doing so, the EU was going against the Samoa Agreement governing OACPS-EU relations which emphasises "regular and comprehensive partnership dialogue based on mutual respect."Moreover, according to the embassy, the Tanzania government had already initiated an internal inquiry into the election-related incidents which would provide "a full and independent account."Expounding on the reasons behind the funding motion to his fellow legislators on Wednesday, the EU parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee chairperson David McAllister cited a severe erosion of democracy in Tanzania, including curbs on free expression in the run-up to the election, as justification for withholding financial support.

"Launching the government's commission of inquiry on November 20, President Samia gave it specific instructions to uncover any instigating roles that local or external non-state actors may have played in the protests."We have reliable information that the youths were paid to take to the streets in the name of demanding their rights. Your job is to find out not only what rights they want precisely, but also who their paymasters were," she said.

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