Babacar Diop (politician)
Babacar Diop | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Thiès | |
| Assumed office 23 January 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Talla Sylla |
| Leader of the FDS/Les Guélawar | |
| Assumed office 7 April 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 August 1982[1] Thiès, Senegal |
| Political party | FDS/Les Guélawar |
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Party of Senegal (2005–2017) |
| Education | Lycee Malick SY |
Babacar Diop (born 17 August 1982) is a Senegalese politician who has served as mayor of Thiès since 2022.
Early life and education
Diop was born on 17 August 1982, to Cheikh Mbacké Diop, a teacher, and his wife, Fatou Bane.[1] He was raised in the Sam Pathé neighbourhood of Thiès and later earned a certificate from the École Franco-Arabe Bilal de Thiès in French and Arabic.[1] In 1997, he completed his BFEM at Djibril Thiaw College, where he was given the nickname Laye Diaw.[1] Diop then attended the Lycee Malick SY where Diop stated he was one of the leaders of a strike demanding the establishment of a second high school in the city.[1]
Political career
He joined the Socialist Party of Senegal in 2005.[1] He was the coordinator of the party's affiliated youth movement Youth for Democracy and Socialism (JDS).[1] The JDS was briefly part of the Manko Taxawu Sénégal coalition during the 2017 Senegalese parliamentary election but withdrew on 24 August 2017.[2] In a press statement, Diop stated that the coalition had "neither a project nor solid political structures".[2]
On 7 April 2018, he created a new political party called the Democratic Forces of Senegal party (FDS/Les Guélawar).[3] In the 2019 Senegalese presidential election, Diop supported Idrissa Seck, the former mayor of Thiès.[1] On November 29, 2019, he and other activists were arrested for participating in a demonstration in front of the Palace of the Republic against the rise in electricity prices.[3] Diop stated that he wrote two poems in prison honouring Mamadou Dia, whom he regards as his spiritual and political guide.[1][4] Prior to the 2022 Senegalese local elections, the FDS/Les Guélawar joined the Liberate the People coalition, which selected Diop as their candidate for mayor of Thiès.[3] He won the election on January 23, 2022 and became the 8th mayor of the city.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Portrait – Dr Babacar Diop, maire élu de Thiès : Une vie de combats". Le Quotidien (in French). 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ a b Gomis, Nando Cabral (25 August 2017). "La JDS Tourne Le Dos A Manko Et Initiative 2017". SenePlus (in French). Archived from the original on 9 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ a b c "Babacar Diop, Un Universitaire Aux Manettes De Thiès". SenePlus (in French). 11 February 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Dr Babacar Diop, maire de la Ville de Thiès : Le digne héritier de Léopold Sédar Senghor et de Mamadou Dia". Le Quotidien (in French). 23 December 2023. Archived from the original on 2 March 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.