New York has elected a Muslim Mayor for the first time in history.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, 34, won the election in a landslide, with more than one million New Yorkers embracing his vision for an affordable and diverse city.
He triumphed over Andrew Cuomo, the former New York state governor endorsed by Donald Trump and backed by wealthy campaign groups.
Madami announced his generational win with a simple video just before 2.40am UK time, showing a train pulling up to City Hall.
With ballots still being counted, more than 1,036,051 (50.4%) New Yorkers voted for who is now the youngest mayor in the city’s history.
Cuomo received 854,995 votes (41.6%) while Curtis Sliwa, a Republican and radio talk show host, bagged 146,137 votes (7.1%), according to AP.
The mayor-elect gave a speech shortly after the results dropped and, with his signature smile, told supporters: ‘As Eugene Debs once said, I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.’
‘The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate.
‘I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this.’
He cast his win as a victory for blue-collar workers struggling to get by.
His victory, he said, was a joint one, thanking the people with ‘palms calloused from delivery-bike handlebars’ and ‘knuckles scarred with kitchen burns’, the ‘Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas; Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek nurses; Trinidadian line cooks and Ethiopian aunties’.
‘New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change,’ he added, vowing to ‘wake up each morning with a singular purpose: To make this city better for you than it was the day before.’
In his 25-minute speech, Mamdani addressed Trump head-on.
‘New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant,’ he said.
Mamdani added: ‘If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.’
Trump, meanwhile, posted on his Truth Social platform: ‘…AND DO IT BEGINS!’
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Mamdani, to a city governed for decades by much of the same, is change.
He was born in Uganda to an Indian mother and a Gujarati Muslim father who grew up in the East African country.
He and his family moved to the United States when he was a child, and he is a naturalised citizen as of 2018.
Before becoming the 111th mayor of New York City, Mamdani was a relative newcomer. A former housing counsellor and hip-hop artist, he became an assemblyman for the 36th district, representing the Queens neighbourhood of Astoria, in 2020.
Much of his campaign saw him shake hands with taxi drivers, eat at halal food carts, dance in LGBTQ+ clubs, visit dozens of mosques and speak in Urdu, Arabic and Bangla, among other languages.
But Trump and other Republicans have aimed Mamdani, with Trump even suggesting that the self-identified Democratic socialist might be deported.
He was repeatedly targeted for his religious beliefs, facing false accusations that he wanted ‘sharia law’.
Now, he’s the mayor of the most famous city in America.
‘My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty,’ Mamdani added to the crowd in Paramount Theater in Brooklyn.
‘I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life. But let tonight be the final time I utter his name.’
What are Mamdani’s policies?
Mamdani stands out for his energetic campaigning style and eye-catching policy proposals that include freezing rent for many New Yorkers, providing free bus service, universal childcare and city-owned supermarkets.
In one of the most expensive cities in the world – where a three-bedroom flat can easily cost $6,000 a month – his message seems to have struck a chord with many.
His image as a fresh voice for people has rapidly grown since he declared his candidacy for mayor last fall.
Mamdani has also been one of the most vocal politicians against Israel’s war in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
In 2023, he introduced a bill to end the tax-exempt status of charities in New York with ties to Israeli settlements that violate international human rights law.
But the bill quickly went nowhere after a lack of support from the Assembly.
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