Zoran Mamdani to history, the first Muslim chairman of New York on the horizon

Zohanan Mamdani, 33, appears to have passed the first obstacle on his way to becoming New York's first Muslim leader after announcing victory in the Democratic Party's preliminary elections Tuesday evening, although the final results may take several days.

In an unexpected fall, Andrew Cuomo é, who until recently was the clear favourite, admitted defeat after it became clear that the progressive candidate had built a clear advantage over the former experienced governor, but involved in scandals.

In a speech to supporters, Mamdan said: “We made history tonight. I'll be your Democrat candidate for mayor of New York City”, reports The Guardian, broadcast Periscope.

After counting 93% of the first round votes, Mamdani, a state representative, had secured 43.5% of the vote, while Cuomo 36.4%.

At an electoral rally, Cuomo said Mamdan had developed a very smart, good and influential <x0fushare.
“Tonight's his night. You deserve it. He won”, he said.

New York uses the rating voting system (ranked-choice), and since no candidate is expected to reach 50%, the second election of voters will also be considered.

Mamdani, who had made a bilateral stand-by agreement with Progressive Brad Lander, who ranked third with 11.4%, is expected to benefit more than Cuomo from second ranking votes.

Mamdan's surprising growth represents a blow to the traditional structure of the Democratic Party and brings hope to progressive candidates throughout the country. Cuomo, supported by powerful donors and central figures like Bill Clinton, was overcome by a wave of basic support for Mamdan, especially by young people.

This race has attracted great national attention, as it offered two opposing visions for the Democratic Party at a time when it has difficulty presenting a clear alternative to Donald Trump.

Mamdan closed the Cuomo gap in recent weeks, thanks to extraordinary enthusiasm from young people. He conducted a progressive campaign, promising freezing rents and free public transportation by buses. It was supported by important figures such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Saunders and had numerous social networking followers.

In the meantime, Cuomo avoided large gatherings and preferred controlled presentations while his campaign and organizations supporting him spent millions attacking Mamdani with a record above $25m in spending from outside donors.

The early elections began on June 14th, and over 380 thousand people had voted by Sunday more than twice as many as had voted in early 2021. Although the city experienced a heat wave of over 38 °C on Tuesday, over 1 million people voted, according to CBS New York.

The primary victory does not guarantee the post of chairman, but in a city where the Democrats are the absolute majority, Mamdani is close to final victory. /Periscope/