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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, conveyed his "huge congratulations" to Zohran Mamdani on his victory in the New York mayoral election. Khan affirmed that Mamdani's win shows that hope conquers fear."New Yorkers faced a clear choice - between hope and fear - and just like we've seen in London - hope won," wrote Khan, who became London's first Muslim mayor in 2016, on the X social media as quoted by Anadolu."Huge congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on his historic campaign," he added.Mamdani, 34, defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican politician Curtis Sliwa in the early hours of Wednesday to become the city's first Muslim mayor and the first of South Asian descent.In his victory speech, as quoted by The Independent, Mamdani - who will become the youngest mayor of New York in over a century when he is inaugurated on January 1, 2026 - said, "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant.""If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him."The New York City Board of Elections announced that this election had the highest voter turnout in over 50 years, with more than 2 million people voting.Both Targeted by TrumpKhan broke the record in 2024 when he was re-elected for a third term as London mayor.As a member of the Labour Party, Khan also shares ideological similarities with Mamdani, who in the early hours of Wednesday was elected as New York City's first Muslim mayor and is known as a social democrat.Both Zohran Mamdani and Sadiq Khan faced fierce attacks from right-wing groups because of their Muslim beliefs and progressive politics.They also have South Asian roots.Khan was born to Pakistani immigrants in the UK, while Mamdani is the son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan writer Mahmood Mamdani, who is also of Indian descent. Born in Kampala, Mamdani moved to New York with his family at the age of seven.They have also been the targets of President Donald Trump's animosity, whose policies critics say have targeted immigrant communities.Trump described Mamdani, a Democratic politician, as a "communist" because of his socialist programs.While Trump repeatedly attacked Khan since 2015, when the Labour politician condemned the then-presidential candidate's proposal to ban Muslims from traveling to the U.S.During Trump's state visit to the UK last September, the president called Sir Sadiq "one of the worst mayors in the world" and claimed that he had requested the mayor not to attend events during his visit.And in his speech at the UN General Assembly, the U.S. president claimed Khan wanted to enforce Sharia law in London.In response, the London Mayor dubbed Donald Trump as "racist, sexist, misogynist," and "Islamophobic" in his latest statement, in the long-running war of words between the two sides."People are wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multicultural, progressive, successful city that means I appear to be living rent-free inside Donald Trump’s head," he said.Editor's Choice: Zohran Mamdani Secures New York Election, Becomes First Muslim MayorClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
