“This report presents findings from a study conducted in Tanzania for the EISA project on ‘Strengthening democracy through dialogue with parties.’ The overall aims of this project are to examine the functioning and regulation of parties in Tanzania during the multiparty era, and to identify best practices in relation to the functioning of parties in Southern Africa. The report provides comparative information on various aspects that were raised, including party formation, membership, policy development and relations within and between parties, as well as constraints and challenges facing parties when it comes to practicing effective democracy. Information presented in this report was obtained from primary and secondary sources. The former involved in-depth interviews with key leaders of the 4 parties included in the survey, namely, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the Civic United Front (CUF), Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo(Chadema), and the Tanzania Labour Party(TLP). The study was conducted on four parties – these parties were chosen because they have members in the Union Parliament on the Mainland or in the House of Representatives in Zanzibar, or both.”