1. Halifa Sallah was born on 1953 and is a retired Gambian politician and former National Assembly member for Serrekunda Constituency.
25 Facts About Halifa Sallah
1. 2.
Halifa Sallah currently serves as the secretary-general of the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism.
3.
Halifa Sallah served as a spokesman and advisor to President Adama Barrow from during the 2016 presidential election campaign until March 2017.
4.
Halifa Sallah has been a major contributor to Foroyaa, the party's newspaper.
5.
Halifa Sallah contested elections for the House of Representatives in 1987 and 1992, and was an opposer of the Yahya Jammeh regime.
6.
Halifa Sallah stood unsuccessfully for the National Assembly in 1997, but was elected in 2002, serving until 2007.
7.
Halifa Sallah was born and raised in Serekunda, the Gambia, and was educated in the United States, graduating with a degree in sociology.
8.
Halifa Sallah returned to the Gambia in 1977 and worked as a social worker in the Social Welfare Department.
9.
Halifa Sallah was acquitted but lost his job as a result of the trial.
10.
In 1986, Halifa Sallah was one of the founders of the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism.
11.
Halifa Sallah was elected as its secretary-general in August 1987.
12.
Halifa Sallah became a major contributor to its newspaper, Foroyaa, which he co-edited with Sidia Jatta.
13.
Halifa Sallah served as a member of the Pan-African Parliament in this period.
14.
Halifa Sallah lost his seat in the National Assembly in the 2007 parliamentary election to Sainey Jaiteh, a member of the ruling APRC.
15.
Halifa 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.
16.
On 8 March 2009, Halifa Sallah was arrested and taken to the central prison, Mile II.
17.
Halifa Sallah was reportedly detained in June 2009, when he went to visit a group of imprisoned journalists at the National Intelligence Agency.
18.
Halifa Sallah was held overnight before being released on bail.
19.
In February 2016, it was announced that Halifa Sallah would be PDOIS's candidate in the 2016 Gambian presidential election.
20.
Halifa Sallah later became the spokesperson for Coalition 2016, and following Jammeh's defeat by Adama Barrow 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.
21.
On 17 February 2017, Halifa Sallah was appointed as Special Advisor to the President on Governance.
22.
On 24 February 2017, Halifa Sallah announced that he would be contesting the 2017 parliamentary election to the National Assembly.
23.
Halifa Sallah stood in the constituency of Serekunda and was duly elected.
24.
Halifa 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.
25.
For thirty years, Halifa Sallah was popular with the educated few, but failed massively to win the support of the masses, because they never understood his politics.