The European Conservatives and Reformists Group has nominated Tanzanian opposition leader and human-rights defender Tundu Lissu for the European Parliament’s 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

ECR Group members endorsed Lissu’s candidacy on Tuesday following a proposal by Carlo Fidanza, Leader of the Italian Delegation in the ECR Group, and Latvian ECR MEP Rihards Kols.

A lawyer and Chairman of Tanzania’s main opposition party CHADEMA, Lissu has spent much of his public life campaigning for free and fair elections, constitutional government, freedom of expression and the rule of law.

In 2017, he survived an assassination attempt in which he was shot multiple times. After receiving medical treatment abroad, he returned to Tanzania and resumed his political activities, standing in the 2020 presidential election. In April 2025, he was arrested following a political rally and charged with treason, a capital offence carrying the possibility of the death penalty.

Fidanza said Lissu’s nomination was a message of solidarity with those who continue to pursue democratic change despite political persecution.

“Tundu Lissu has paid an extraordinary personal price for standing up for democracy, yet he has refused to be silenced. He chose ballots over violence, the rule of law over intimidation and political engagement over retreat. Europe must stand with those who defend these principles when doing so puts their freedom and even their lives at risk,” Fidanza said.

Kols said Lissu embodied the courage and commitment to freedom that the Sakharov Prize was created to recognise.

“Tundu Lissu survived an attempt on his life, returned home and continued his peaceful fight for free elections and constitutional government. Today, he faces imprisonment and the threat of the death penalty for challenging those in power. His courage reminds us that freedom cannot be taken for granted and that those who defend it deserve more than our words – they deserve our support,” Kols said.

For the ECR Group, Lissu’s case also highlights the wider importance of protecting political pluralism, civic space and the rule of law in Tanzania and across East Africa. Democratic opposition must be able to operate freely, and political disagreement must never be answered with violence, arbitrary detention or the threat of execution.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded annually by the European Parliament to individuals and organisations that have made an exceptional contribution to the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The deadline for political groups to submit nominations is 17 September. The candidates will be presented on 1 October at a joint meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Committee on Development. The Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Development will then select a three-candidate shortlist on 19 October, before the Conference of Presidents chooses the winner. The award ceremony will take place during the December plenary session in Strasbourg.