Talla Sylla (born January 21, 1966) is a

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

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 This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

Biography

Sylla was born in

Pikine Pikine is a city in the Pikine Department of the Dakar Region of Senegal. Lying to the east of Dakar city centre, at the 2013 Census it had a population of 1,170,791. The department includes the villages of Yeumbeul, Thiaroye, Mbao, and Keur ...

, in the outskirts of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

. Sylla joined the

African Independence Party African Independence Party (in French: ''Parti Africain de l'Indépendance'') was a communist party in French West Africa (AOF). PAI was founded in Thiès, Senegal in 1957. Later as AOF was dissolved into independent countries the local PAI sectio ...

at the age of 14. He later entered the

Cheikh Anta Diop University Cheikh Anta Diop University (french: Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh ...

to study

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

. 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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, to continue his studies there. At the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

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 repre ...

. 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 and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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 A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

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)
Encyclopedia of the Nations. Retrieved February 28, ...

."Prominent Senegalese opposition leader retires from political life"
, African Press Agency, June 6, 2007.

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 People from Dakar Region Alliance for Progress and Justice/Jëf-Jël politicians Members of the National Assembly (Senegal) Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni