When will Zohran Mamdani take charge as 111th New York Mayor? A look at his key challenges
Zohran Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in one of the key US elections ahead of next year's mid-term polls.
Winning one of the most competitive elections, Zohran Mamdani scripted history on Tuesday night by getting elected as the next Mayor of New York.
Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani, the Ugandan-born son of filmmaker Mira Nair and professor Mahmood Mamdani, becomes New York’s first Muslim mayor and first person of South Asian descent to lead the city.
“Tonight you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford, and a mandate for a government that can deliver exactly that,” Mamdani told his supporters at a raucous party.
How many people voted in New York election?
In the largest turnout in a mayoral race in over five decades, over 2 million people voted, according to the New York City Board of Elections.
In the last election, in 2021, turnout was 23%, a modern-day low, reported the New York Times.
Which boroughs did Mamdani win?
Zohran Mamdani won four of the five boroughs (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island).
When will Mamdani get sworn in?
Zohran Mamdani has been elected as the 111th mayor of New York. The avowed democratic socialist will be sworn in on January 1. He becomes the youngest person to hold the office in decades.
“On January 1, I will be sworn in as the mayor of New York City. And that is because of you. So before I say anything else, I must say this...thank you,” said Mamdani.
How many votes did Mamdani and his opponents receive?
— Mamdani received 1,036,051 or 50.4% votes of the 91% counted votes.
— Ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo who contested as an independent after losing primary to Mamdani, polled 854,995 or 41.6% votes.
— Republican Curtis Sliwa got 146,137 or 7.1% votes.
What will be Mamdani's key challenges?
As the Mayor of New York, the Democrat's key challenge will be maintaining a relationship with the White House and delivering what he promised on affordability.
From calling him ‘communist lunatic’ to threatening to withhold funding, President Donald Trump has repeatedly slammed Mamdani.
“It is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win,” Trump posted Monday on Truth Social. “I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad.”
Mamdani's successes — and failures — will be closely scrutinised, said a BBC report.
“Mamdani’s got to get his ideas realized in policy, and New York is notoriously difficult to govern. It’s arguably the second hardest political job in the United States, after the president," says Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
So whatever he’s able to accomplish, it won’t be easy, the Guardian quoted Reeher as saying.
Andrew Rein, head of New York City Citizens Budget Commission Organisation, told Politico that Mamdani will be walking into a very challenging fiscal situation with the city budget, “and a challenging federal situation with changing policies that are going to stress all sorts of systems in the city.”
Mamdani's direct challenge to Trump
Addressing thousands of his supporters after victory, Mamdani said that "New York will remain a city of immigrants – a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant."
“So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. When we enter City Hall in 58 days, expectations will be high. We will meet them. A great New Yorker once said that while you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose,” said the Democrat.