"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, Sallah released a statement saying he would not be a candidate because "the office of President or Vice President is not of value to [him]". In February 2016, it was announced that Sallah would be PDOIS's candidate in the 2016 Gambian presidential election. He 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. Sallah remained the coalition spokesperson following Barrow's election. It was rumored that Sallah was being considered for Vice-President by Barrow, but Barrow changed his mind following a meeting with Ousainou Darboe 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