Pap Cheyassin Secka and Sheriff Mustapha Dibba who were both tried for treason. Darboe also represented the majority of those detained under 'Emergency Powers' following the coup. He has worked as a legal advisor to many major Gambian companies and organisations, including Gamtel, Continent Bank (which dissolved in 2003), Gambia Public Transport Corporation, and the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation. He also continued to provide advice and representation on a pro bono basis. He served the Gambia Bar Association for several years as its vice president and was also a member of the National Advisory Committee on the selection of judges to the International Court of Justice. Political career Major opposition politician 1994 in the Gambia saw a military coup, propelling Yahya Jammeh into the role of head of state. In August 1996, Darboe founded the United Democratic Party based on "democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law", and became its first leader. He first ran for president in the 1996 presidential election, where he came second to Jammeh, winning 35.84% of the vote to Jammeh's 55.77%. However, the election was widely criticised by observers for its flaws. In June 2000, while on the campaign trail for the 2001 election, his convoy was ambushed by supporters of the Jammeh regime. One attacker, Alieu Njie, was killed in the process. Darboe and 20 others were arrested and held in Basse police station before being transferred to the high court in Banjul and being granted bail. He ran again in the 2001 election, representing a three-way coalition of the UDP, the People's Progressive Party (PPP), and the Gambian People's Party (GPP). He again finished second behind Jammeh, winning 32.59% of the vote. In 2005, the UDP joined with four other opposition parties to form the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD), in preparation for elections in late 2006 and early 2007. The alliance, however, disintegrated after the UDP and the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) withdrew in early 2006. By the time the presidential election was held in September 2006, Darboe's UDP had formed another coalition with the NRP and the Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress (GPDP) called the 'Alliance for Regime Change'. In the election, Darboe's running mate was Hamat Bah. A United States diplomatic cable describing the election candidates called Darboe the "perennial candidate". It speculated by his opponent that Darboe seemed "to be relying on tribal loyalties