Halifa Sallah
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Halifa Sallah (born 1953) is a retired Gambian politician and former
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
member for Serrekunda Constituency. He currently serves as the secretary-general of the
People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism The People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) is a socialist political party in the Gambia. Since 2005, it has been part of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD). It was part of Coalition 2016 ...
(PDOIS). He served as a spokesman and advisor to
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Adama Barrow Adama Barrow (, born 15 February 1965) is a The Gambia, Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of The Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village in Jimara district, he attended Crab Island Secondary ...
from during the 2016 presidential election campaign until March 2017. Sallah co-founded PDOIS in 1986, and was elected as its secretary-general in 1987. He has been a major contributor to ''
Foroyaa ''Foroyaa'' is a newspaper located in Serrekunda, the Gambia. It was first launched in July 1987, and is owned by the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), an opposition political party that was instrumental in b ...
'', the party's newspaper. He contested elections for the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
in 1987 and 1992, and was an opposer of the
Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former soldier, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017. He was the Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 1994 ...
regime. He stood unsuccessfully for the National Assembly in 1997, but was elected in 2002, serving until 2007. During that time, he also served as Minority Leader. Sallah has also served in the
Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...
, and was the
National Alliance for Democracy and Development The National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) is a three-party coalition (previously five parties) of Gambian opposition political parties. It was officially launched January 2005 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (M ...
(NADD)'s candidate for president in the 2006 presidential election, coming third with 6% of the vote.


Early life

Sallah was born and raised in
Serekunda Serekunda (or Serrekunda; ) is a major city and the largest metropolitan area in The Gambia. It is situated close to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast, on the Gambia River, near the capital, Banjul. Serekunda and Banjul form an urban area kno ...
,
the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
, and was educated in the
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, graduating with a degree in sociology. He returned to the Gambia in 1977 and worked as a social worker in the Social Welfare Department.


Political career


Jawara era and post-coup

After returning from the United States in the late 1970s, Sallah became involved with the People's Movement for Independence against Neo-Colonialism and Capitalism (PMINCC). It is also believed that he was one of the editors of ''The Voice of the Future'' newspaper. Along with other PMINCC members, he was arrested in October 1983 and went on trial in 1984 for his involvement in distributing ''The Voice''. He was acquitted but lost his job as a result of the trial. In 1986, Sallah was one of the founders of the
People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism The People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) is a socialist political party in the Gambia. Since 2005, it has been part of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD). It was part of Coalition 2016 ...
(PDOIS). He was elected as its secretary-general in August 1987. He also became a major contributor to its newspaper, ''
Foroyaa ''Foroyaa'' is a newspaper located in Serrekunda, the Gambia. It was first launched in July 1987, and is owned by the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), an opposition political party that was instrumental in b ...
'', which he co-edited with
Sidia Jatta Sidia Sana Jatta (born 1945) is a Gambian politician, academic, and writer. Early life and education A Mandinka, Jatta was born in Sutukoba, Wuli District. He was educated locally and at Nungua Secondary School, near Accra, Ghana from 1961 to ...
. Sallah contested the Serekunda East constituency in the 1987 and 1992 elections for the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, but only won around 10% of the vote. Following
Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former soldier, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017. He was the Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 1994 ...
's coup in 1994, Sallah and other PDOIS leaders adopted a principled stance in response, with Sallah and Jatta both turning down offers to join the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council. Both men were detained in August 1994 for publishing an edition of foroyya despite the ban on political activities. They were put on trial, found guilty, and fined, but resumed publication in November 1994 as a non-partisan newspaper.


Parliamentary career, arrest and presidential campaign

Sallah again unsuccessfully contested the Serekunda East constituency in the 1997 election but was elected to the new constituency of Serekunda Central in the 2002 parliamentary election. As the United Democratic Party (UDP) had boycotted the election, the PDOIS, with two seats, emerged as the largest opposition party, and Sallah became the Minority Leader in the National Assembly. He also served as a member of the
Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...
in this period. In June 2005, he was expelled from the National Assembly along with three other opposition MPs on the grounds of dual party membership. NADD, an opposition alliance that the PDOIS had joined earlier that year, had been registered as a political party, and the Supreme Court of the Gambia ruled that holding dual membership was against the Gambian Constitution. Some criticised the ruling, claiming that it was a move to silence parliamentary opposition as there was nothing in the Constitution that regulated political parties. On 29 September, a by-election was held in Serrekunda Central, in which Sallah was re-elected by a "huge" margin. On 15 November 2005, he was arrested along with two other opposition leaders on the grounds of subversion, accused of having collaborated with the
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. The charges, however, were dropped following the intervention of
Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
, then-
President of Nigeria The president of Nigeria, officially the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the Federal Government an ...
. Sallah was NADD's candidate in the 2006 presidential election, where he came third and won 5.98% of the vote.


Further arrests, 2016 campaign and Barrow presidency

He lost his seat in the National Assembly in the 2007 parliamentary election to Sainey Jaiteh, a member of the ruling APRC. While not mentioning Sallah by name,
Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former soldier, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017. He was the Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 1994 ...
made a coded reference to him and
Hamat Bah Hamat Ngai Kumba Bah is a Gambian politician who is the current Minister of Tourism and Culture in President Adama Barrow's cabinet. He is also the leader of the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) and has been a presidential candidate in 1996, ...
when he expressed his satisfaction at the defeat of "the two empty barrels in the National Assembly". Sallah blamed the opposition's poor performance in the election on a split in its ranks and said that he intended to retire from politics and concentrate on writing. On 8 March 2009, Sallah was arrested and taken to the central prison, Mile II. The Jammeh regime accused him of spying. However, the charges were dropped against him on 25 March "in the interest of peace and justice". Sallah was also reportedly detained in June 2009, when he went to visit a group of imprisoned journalists at the National Intelligence Agency. He was held overnight before being released on bail. Before the
2011 Gambian presidential election Presidential elections were held in the Gambia on 24 November 2011. Incumbent President Yahya Jammeh, in office since seizing power in a 1994 coup, faced Ousainou Darboe of the United Democratic Party and Hamat Bah of the National Alliance f ...
, Sallah released a statement saying he would not be a candidate because "the office of President or Vice President is not of value to im. In February 2016, it was announced that Sallah would be PDOIS's candidate in the
2016 Gambian presidential election Presidential elections were held in The Gambia on 1 December 2016. In a surprise result, opposition candidate Adama Barrow defeated long-term incumbent Yahya Jammeh. The election marked the first change of presidency in The Gambia since a mili ...
. He later became the spokesperson for
Coalition 2016 Gambia Coalition 2016 was the governing coalition of The Gambia in the late 2010s, consisting of seven Gambian political parties, civil society groups and one independent candidate created to field and support a unity ticket for the opposition in ...
, and following Jammeh's defeat by
Adama Barrow Adama Barrow (, born 15 February 1965) is a The Gambia, Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of The Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village in Jimara district, he attended Crab Island Secondary ...
in the election, declared that Jammeh would be treated like a "rebel leader" if he did not relinquish control by 19 January 2017, when his term ended. Sallah remained the coalition spokesperson following Barrow's election. It was rumored that Sallah was being considered for
Vice-President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
by Barrow, but Barrow changed his mind following a meeting with
Ousainou Darboe A.N.M Ousainou Darboe (born 8 August 1948) is a Gambian politician and leader of the main opposition United Democratic Party (The Gambia), United Democratic Party (UDP). He previously served as Vice-President of the Gambia and Minister of Women's ...
and other UDP members. Sallah subsequently declined the offer of a cabinet position. On 17 February 2017, Sallah was appointed as Special Advisor to the President on Governance (but he never take the role). SMBC News commented that his "appointment will bring absolute, total, complete confidence of the Barrow administration." On 24 February 2017, Sallah announced that he would be contesting the 2017 parliamentary election to the National Assembly. Upon submitting his nomination to the Independent Electoral Commission, he said that it would be the duty of the incoming NAMs to build up the National Assembly as an oversight institution. Sallah also resigned from his executive role as an advisor. He stood in the constituency of Serekunda and was duly elected. In August, Sallah called for a debate with Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), over the credibility of Coalition 2016's memorandum of understanding stating that Barrow would only serve for three years, instead of a full five years. In October 2017, Sallah said that the Barrow government was "reminiscent of the APRC government days" as "nothing seems to have improved the living standard of ordinary Gambians." The Office of the President issued a statement in response stating that "Comparing this government to the former dictatorial regime is a distortion of facts." Sallah visited
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
for three days in February 2018. On 8 March, Sallah met with the Cuban Ambassador to The Gambia, Lázaro Herrera, in his home. On 16 March, during a heated exchange over a proposed loan from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Sallah was removed from the National Assembly on the orders of Speaker Mariam Jack-Denton. In November 2021, Halifa Sallah's candidacy for the presidential election of 2021-22 is validated by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).


Personal life

Sallah was involved in a car accident while touring the country in March 2016 and "suffered cuts to his face", but his injuries were not life-threatening. Gambia's political scientist, Amat Jeng, writes this about him: "Born in Serrekunda and educated in the US, Halifa Sallah returned home in the 1970s during the turbulent days of pan-Africanism and the Cold War, totally appalled at capitalism, neo-colonialism and the racism he saw in the US. Part of the founding fathers of the ‘Red Star’, commonly known as the People's Movement for Independence against Neo-Colonialism and Capitalism (PMINCC), Sallah began to espouse social democracy, believing that for a nation to realize its political and social freedoms, the masses have to, first, be free from external and internal oppression and domination, and second, be educated to become masters of state and society. For thirty years, Halifa was popular with the educated few, but failed massively to win the support of the masses, because they never understood his politics."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sallah, Halifa Gambian democracy activists Living people Members of the Pan-African Parliament from the Gambia People from Serekunda People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism politicians Gambian socialists Leaders of political parties in the Gambia 1953 births