NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and New York State Assemblyman born in Kampala, Uganda, has won the election to become the 111th Mayor of New York City, according to projections from The Associated Press and other major news outlets on Wednesday, 6 November 2025 (EAT). His victory over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, marks a seismic shift in the city's politics and a historic moment for the East African diaspora.

In his victory speech delivered late Tuesday night in New York, Mamdani, 34, framed his win as a mandate for radical change, focusing on the city's working class. "For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands," he told a cheering crowd in Brooklyn. Quoting the American socialist leader Eugene Debs, he added, "I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity."

The mayor-elect directly addressed his defeat of Cuomo, a dominant figure in New York politics for decades. "My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty," Mamdani declared. "I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life, but let tonight be the final time I utter his name, as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few." Cuomo, 67, resigned as governor in August 2021 amid numerous allegations of sexual harassment.

Deep East African Roots on a Global Stage

Mamdani's ascent is particularly significant for Kenya and the wider East African region. He was born in Kampala in 1991 to two prominent intellectuals with strong ties to the region. His father is Mahmood Mamdani, the globally respected Ugandan academic, author, and current Chancellor of Kampala International University. Professor Mamdani, of Indian descent, was born in Mumbai and raised in Kampala, and is a leading scholar on colonialism and post-colonialism in Africa. His mother is the acclaimed Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair, who has frequently worked in and told stories about East Africa, including the 1991 film "Mississippi Masala," which was filmed in Uganda.

The family moved from Kampala to New York City when Zohran was seven years old after his father joined the faculty at Columbia University. He is a graduate of New York City public schools and Bowdoin College, where he studied Africana Studies. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. Prior to his election to the State Assembly in 2020, he worked as a housing counselor, assisting homeowners in fighting eviction.

A Platform with Potential Local Resonance

Throughout his mayoral campaign, Mamdani championed a progressive platform focused on affordability that could resonate with urban challenges faced in cities like Nairobi. His key proposals included universal childcare, fare-free city buses, the creation of city-owned grocery stores to combat high food prices, and a rent freeze on stabilized apartments. He has pledged to fund these initiatives by increasing taxes on corporations and the city's wealthiest residents.

His political identity as a democratic socialist and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) places him on the party's left wing, advocating for systemic economic change. This ideology, centered on empowering working people and expanding public services, offers a sharp contrast to the pro-business centrism that has long dominated New York politics.

While the Mayor of New York has limited direct influence on foreign policy, Mamdani's election is a symbolic victory for progressive and diaspora voices. His outspoken pro-Palestinian stance, including sponsoring a bill in the State Assembly titled the "Not on our dime!" act to restrict non-profits from funding Israeli settlement activities, signals a willingness to challenge long-standing foreign policy consensus in the U.S. This could inspire and energize similar advocacy movements within Kenya and across Africa on a range of international issues.

Mamdani will be sworn into office on 1 January 2026, becoming New York City's first Muslim, first South Asian, and youngest mayor in over a century. His leadership will be closely watched from his birthplace in Kampala to the streets of Nairobi, as a new generation with deep ties to East Africa takes power on the world stage.