DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 8 -- IT is election season again and exactly the time when political temperatures tend to rise faster. Tension builds, voices grow louder, and emotions occasionally boil over. Yet, amid the campaign slogans, rallies and debates, one message rings louder and clearer than the rest: Peace matters.

And not in some poetic, abstract way. This is about real, practical, bootson-the-ground, look-your-neighbour-in-the-eye peace. The kind of peace that keeps classrooms full, markets open and the wheels of development turning.

As the country moves toward the General Election on October 29th, it becomes increasingly evident that peace is not a luxury, it is a necessity. It is the bedrock of national stability and the unseen found...