Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist, has claimed victory over Andrew Cuomo in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary.

New York state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani announced victory after securing an early lead over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday.

“I am honored to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City,” Mamdani wrote on social media platform X.

Political veteran Cuomo said he had called Mamdani to congratulate him.

“Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won,” he told supporters.

Mamdani had a significant lead with nearly 90% of the ballots counted, winning some 43% of the vote. While the 33-year-old democratic socialist seems set to run for New York mayor against a Republican rival in November, New Yorkers will have to wait at least a week for official results and the final decision based on the city’s somewhat complex voting system.

Many see Mamdani, who is backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as a representative of a the new, more progressive wing of the Democratic party.

If Mamdani wins the general mayoral contest in November, he will become New York’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor.

How does the voting system work?

New York City uses a ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to number their candidates in order of preference.

If no candidate earns more than 50% of the vote share in the initial round, the candidate with the fewest votes gets knocked out, and the votes that went to them get redistributed.

This system calls for multiple rounds of vote counting if no candidate reaches 50% in the initial tally.

Whoever wins is highly likely to become New York’s next mayor in the largely Democratic-dominated city.

Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, embroiled in legal troubles, will run as an independent candidate in the November general election.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic

DW News