I argue that the mass rally is among the most overlooked phenomena in the study of politics in sub-Saharan Africa. In many countries, politicians and voters interact with each other at rallies more frequently than they do through any other medium. Often, the rally is unrivalled as a spectacle, a symbol, a platform and a means of direct contact. Election campaigns such as these are rally-intensive.

My thesis is about the prominence that the rally assumes in many African ground campaigns. It builds on a year of field work in Tanzania, where I attended 42 rallies, undertook 168 interviews and observed the 2015 election campaign at large. In my thesis, I examine under what conditions ground campaigns become rally-intensive, and in such campaigns, how political parties electioneer, and how they organise.