ARUSHA, Tanzania — Tanzania will host hundreds of lawmakers from around the world next month for the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), with delegates set to debate governance, inclusion and global policy challenges while electing a new president of the organisation.
The five-day gathering will run from October 5 to 9 at the Arusha International Conference Centre and will be hosted by Tanzania’s National Assembly. The Geneva-based IPU currently brings together 183 national parliaments and describes itself as the global organisation of national legislatures.
The meeting will focus on “enhancing good governance and empowering communities through inclusivity, trust and opportunities for all”, according to the IPU. Delegates are expected to debate how parliaments can strengthen public institutions, widen participation and improve opportunities for communities.
IPU to Elect New President
A change in leadership will be among the Assembly’s main developments. The IPU Governing Council is expected to elect a new president to succeed Tanzania’s Tulia Ackson, whose three-year term ends in October.
Three candidates had been declared as of September 9: Azerbaijan’s parliamentary speaker Sahiba Gafarova, Australian House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick and Chilean Senator Rojo Edwards Silva.
The Assembly will also consider requests for an emergency item and is expected to adopt a resolution on parliamentary strategies to advance the rights and empowerment of people living with disabilities.
A special accountability session will examine the implementation of previous IPU resolutions and decisions, placing parliamentary oversight and institutional accountability among the key issues on the agenda.
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AI, Security, Food Systems and Maritime Issues
Other meetings will involve the IPU’s standing committees, its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, Committee on Middle East Questions and forums bringing together women and young parliamentarians.
The programme will also extend into policy questions increasingly confronting national legislatures, including military artificial intelligence, AI and children’s rights, the future of work, oversight of extractive industries, critical minerals, mental health, food systems and maritime security.
The IPU’s task force seeking a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine is also scheduled to meet in Arusha, placing international security alongside governance and development issues on the Assembly’s agenda.
The breadth of the programme reflects the range of issues national parliaments are being called upon to address, from emerging technologies and economic transformation to human rights, food security and international conflict.
IPU Membership to Expand
Founded in 1889, the IPU provides a forum through which national parliamentarians discuss international issues, adopt resolutions and coordinate parliamentary action. Its membership covers most of the world’s national legislatures.
Nauru, officially Naoero, is expected to become the IPU’s 184th member during the Tanzania meeting.
The Assembly comes as Tanzania begins implementing its Development Vision 2050, giving the meeting’s focus on governance and accountability a domestic policy backdrop.
Tanzania’s Development Vision 2050
The national strategy targets a more industrialised and internationally competitive economy by mid-century and sets an ambition of building a $1 trillion economy with gross national income per capita of at least $7,000.
Implementation has started through national planning and budget processes. Tanzania’s National Planning Commission said earlier this month that 150 development projects had been registered on a new e-Delivery monitoring platform since it became operational in July, with more than 500 projects ultimately expected to be tracked.
Parliament will have a role in that process through legislation, approval of public spending and oversight of government institutions and development programmes — functions that closely intersect with the governance and accountability questions that will be discussed in Arusha.
Readers can follow ongoing developments through Ghana News Live as the Assembly approaches.
Trade, Energy and Infrastructure in Tanzania
The Assembly also comes against a period of expanding trade, power generation and infrastructure investment in Tanzania. Goods and services exports were reported at almost $20 billion in the year to July 2026, while new electricity capacity and increased cargo volumes at Dar es Salaam port have supported the country’s broader industrialisation plans.
However, the October meeting will centre primarily on the work of parliaments and the decisions emerging from the IPU’s governing bodies rather than Tanzania’s economic performance alone.
The Assembly is expected to conclude with decisions and resolutions from its committees, an outcome from the general debate and the election of the organisation’s next president, bringing Tulia Ackson’s term at the head of the global parliamentary body to an end.
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As lawmakers gather in Arusha, the Assembly will provide a major international forum for parliamentary debate on governance, security, technology, human rights and economic development.
