KABUL (Pajhwok): Zohran Mamdani has won the closely contested New York City mayoral election, becoming the first Muslim to lead the largest city in the United States, media reports said Wednesday.

In a victory for the Democratic Party's progressive wing, Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, the Associated Press reported.

With his decisive win, the democratic socialist makes history as New York's first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian descent, and the first born in Africa. At 32, he will also become the city's youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on January 1.

“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,” Mamdani told a cheering crowd at his victory party.

“New York will remain a city of immigrants - a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” he said, adding:“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”

More than two million New Yorkers cast their ballots in the contest, marking the highest turnout in a mayoral race in over 50 years, according to the city's Board of Elections. With roughly 90 percent of the votes counted, Mamdani held a lead of about nine percentage points over Cuomo.

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