Hamat Bah is a Gambian

The Gambia

The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....

 politician and leader of the National Reconciliation Party

National Reconciliation Party

The National Reconciliation Party is a political party in The Gambia.Its candidate at the presidential elections of 18 October 2001, Hamat Bah, came third with 7.8% of the popular vote. At the last legislative elections, 17 January 2002, the party won no seats....

 (NRP). Running as his party's presidential candidate in 2001, he placed third, winning 7.8% of the vote. He was previously a hotel worker before joining politics.

In January 2005, Bah's NRP joined four other opposition parties to form the National Alliance for Democracy and Development

National Alliance for Democracy and Development

The National Alliance for Democracy and Development is a five-party coalition of Gambian opposition political parties.It was officially launched January 2005 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Democratic Action Movement , National Reconciliation Party ,...

 (NADD).

Soon after NADD was registered as a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

, the country's Supreme Court revoked Bah's National Assembly

National Assembly of the Gambia

The National Assembly is the legislative branch of government in The Gambia.- Composition and electoral system:The National Assembly is unicameral and consists of 53 members who serve a five-year term. 48 members are directly elected while the remaining five are appointed by the President...

 seat, which he won in 2002, for belonging to two parties at the same time. In a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 held in June 2005, he lost his seat to a member of the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction

Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction

The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction is a political party in The Gambia, founded by army officers who staged a coup in 1994. It was formed in 1996 to support army leader Yahya Jammeh's campaign for the 1996 elections....

 (APRC) party.

Bah was defeated in the January 2007 parliamentary election

Gambian parliamentary election, 2007

A parliamentary election was held in The Gambia on 25 January 2007. Forty-eight members of the National Assembly were elected, with another five being appointed by the President. 103 candidates had been approved by the Independent Electoral Commission, and only the ruling party, the Alliance for...

. While not mentioning Bah by name, it was thought that President Yahya Jammeh

Yahya Jammeh

Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is the President of The Gambia...

 was referring to Bah and Halifa Sallah

Halifa Sallah

Halifa Sallah is a Gambian politician. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of The Gambia and a member of the Pan-African Parliament...

when he expressed satisfaction at the defeat of "the two empty barrels in the National Assembly".