Talla Sylla (born 21 January 1966) is a

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese politician and the leader of '' Action pour la Renaissance/Wallu Askanu Senegal'' (AR/WA Senegal). He was previously the leader of Alliance for Progress and Justice Jëf-Jël and was that party's candidate in the 2007 presidential election.

Biography

Sylla was born in Pikine, in the outskirts of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

. Sylla joined the African Independence Party at the age of 14. He later entered the Cheikh Anta Diop University to study

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. In October 1987 he was elected president of the Dakar Students Coordination (CED). The following year he led a students strike. In 1990, after another students strike, Sylla was expelled from UCAD. He then shifted to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to continue his studies there. At the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

he founded the Youth for Change (JPA) in 1991. When Sylla returned to Senegal in 1995, JPA was transformed into a political party, Jëf-Jël. In the April 2001 parliamentary election, Sylla was the sole Jëf-Jël candidate elected to the

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 ...

. He later resigned from the National Assembly and was replaced by Moussa Tine. Sylla was attacked and severely injured outside a restaurant"Opposition leader Talla Sylla back from medical treatment"
Panapress, November 9, 2003. in Dakar on October 5, 2003, and was hospitalized as a result. He was subsequently taken to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for further treatment and eventually returned to Senegal on November 9, 2003. In the February 2007 presidential election, Sylla took 0.53% of the vote and eighth place."Le texte intégral de la décision du Conseil constitutionnel", Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, March 11, 2007 . He was again the only Jëf-Jël candidate to be elected to the National Assembly in the parliamentary election held on June 3, 2007, winning the seat through national list proportional representation. On June 5, 2007, he announced that he was leaving politics for health reasons; he attributed his health problems to the 2003 attack, which was allegedly done by people close to President

Abdoulaye Wade Abdoulaye Wade (, ; born 29 May 1926) is a Senegalese politician who served as the third president of Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), having led the party since it was founded ...

. He served as mayor of

Thiès Thiès (; ; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and Saint-Louis, ...

from 2014 to 2022.

References

External links

Le site web officiel de Talla Sylla Candidat aux Elections Presidentielles Senegalaises 2012 , 2012 candidates, SenegalArticle on Sylla in Le Quotidien
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylla, Talla 1966 births Living people 21st-century mayors of places in Senegal Mayors of Thiès People from Dakar region Alliance for Progress and Justice/Jëf-Jël politicians Members of the National Assembly (Senegal) Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni